The Natural Future
by TigerSneak1
Summary: The Dexholders have been through many trials before. Yet, something unprecedented is looming on the horizon. They must prepare for an adventure beyond their wildest dreams. So I don't have to do this later... DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON NOR ANY OTHER MEDIAS THAT I MAY OR MAY NOT REFERENCE
1. The Meeting

Chapter 1

Red's POV

"Alright! Let's get this party started!"

Gold's cry was followed by several hearty cheers. Red was at one of the monthly Dexholder meetings. This month, it was being held at his junior Gold's gigantic house. Red swore, if he was able to get a house like that, he would never leave. It was a great house, but the meetings were only made possible because Crys ran the preparations , telling everyone where to be, what to bring, what to dress… A little on the serious side, he thought, but she managed to get everything set up well enough. There was food, drink, games, but most of all; everyone came, from the Kanto dexholders to the Hoenn ones. And Yellow. He honestly didn't know what to think of her. Whenever he looked at her, he felt this funny sensation in the chest, w–

"C'mon Senior Red! Let's party!" And that was Gold, interrupting his thoughts.

"All right, all right. So, what are we doing first?"

"Well, I thought that we should start with talking about the last month," Crystal began, "And then we could move on to the–"

"Come on Super Serious Gal! Go with the flow!" Gold interrupted. "Here. Let me show you something actually fun to do." He grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

A light pink rose to Crystal's face. "Gold! Let me go! I'm not done with explaining the schedule! Gold!"

Red sweatdropped. Sometimes his juniors really acted like children. Hard to believe that they were sixteen, and had stopped several cataclysms.

Green and Silver were on another one of Gold's floors along with the Hoenn trio. This was complete bullshit to Red. The floors, he was talking about. What kind of house has FIVE floors? It was insanity.

"A-ah! Red!" A soft voice rang out. Red spun around. It was Yellow. "I-I saw you and wondered if you would like to t-talk for a bit?"

"Sure. I'm not doing anything right now," Red responded. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Well, I-I want to t-tell you… I-I l-lo–"

"Senior Red! H-help me!" Crystal came running back, out of breath. "Gold is trying to drag me t… Oh. Was I interrupting something?"

Blood rushed to the faces of Red and Yellow. "Um… I don't know?" Red stated/asked.

"CRYS!" Blue came running in and tackled Crystal to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?! I had Yellow about to confess here (cue Yellow's face turning an even deeper shade of red), and a possible kiss between Red and Yellow (cue Red's face matching Yellow's)! How DARE you interrupt a perfect Specialshipping moment! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Blue was going insane, practically foaming at the mouth. Her eyes had a madness to them, something that implied, 'WARNING! Do not infuriate on pain of death! Seriously, man. Don't do it.' Crystal seemed to go numb with fear as she was assaulted by Blue.

"Hey, hey, break it up ladies! I know you all want me, irresistible as I am, but no need to fight!" What was Gold doing? Did he want to die? That seemed to bring Blue out of her madness and Crys out of her coma.

"…"

"Crys"

"Yes, Blue?"

"I shall forgive you for the time being. Do what you do best."

"Very well, Blue. GOOOOOOLLLLDDDD!"

The next few minutes involve violence such that the author does not wish to describe. Thus, we shall skip to a smirking Blue, an angry Crys, a shocked Red and Yellow, and a bruised Gold lying unconscious on the floor.

"…"

"That was violent," Red remarked.

"Extremely," Yellow commented with eyes wide open.

"…"

"So Yellow! What was it that you were going to say?"

"A-ah! It's n-nothing."

"Oh really Yellow? It didn't seem like nothing~!" Blue decided to start meddling again. It seems you forgot the "training" I gave you last week. I'm going to have to give you some more encouragement. Come on, Yellow," Blue deviously grinned.

"Wait! Not another week! Blue! Let go of me! HELP!" And with that, Yellow was dragged away by Blue. Red sighed.

'_What just happened?_'

* * *

Green's POV

Green groaned. He had just found a nice, quiet area where he could actually finish his paper on the strange evolution of Magikarp and Feebas, but then…

"Oh come on Sapphire. You could be beautiful if you tried!"

"Who needs to be beautiful? That's only for sissies!"

"Battling is for barbarians!"

"Contests are for wimps!"

Of course his massive project would be ruined by Ruby and Sapphire. He was about to get up and move somewhere else when somebody let out an outburst.

"Ruby. Sapphire. I will say this once. SHUT UP! YOU TWO BICKER LIKE AN OLD MARRIED COUPLE! GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!"

'_About time someone shut them up!'_ Green thought. Those two were worse than Gold and Crystal, for Arceus's sake, and I know what I'm talking about. Crystal always complains to me about Gold's latest antics, and even if he deserves a serious whomping, Yet, even with this, it's fairly clear that she has fallen for the golden-eyed boy. Not that I would ever know why. I'm fairly sure that my other half would be someone serious and down-to-earth. I would never fall in love with a mischievous, devious, trickster. Right? Anyways, Emerald was trying in vain to shut the lovey-dovey couple up.

"WHAT?! I WOULD NEVER MARRY THAT PRISSY BOY!"

"AS IF I WOULD EVER MARRY A WILD GIRL!"

"I don't care. Just SHUT UP!"

"Yeah Ruby, why can't you just shut up about your stupid contests?"

"These _stupid_ contests of mine showcase the beauty and ability of Pokémon. They can perform elegantly and beautifully. Meanwhile, your _battles_,only show how uncouth Pokémon can be." After Ruby's retort, Silver walked into the room, and his face wrinkled in immediate disgust.

"Battles show how powerful Pokémon can be! Strength is vital for Pokémon, meanwhile in contests; all you have to do are a few twirls and shoot some moves into space. What's so good about that?"

"You're completely misunderstanding this! It's not the moves, it's the splendor that you can pull off whi–"

"SHUT UP!" roared Silver who had walked into the room a few moments before. "NOBODY CARES!"

'_Well that was surprising, Silver barely came in a minute ago, and he's already been driven to breaking point. Ruby and Sapph must really be pissing him off,'_ Green thought. An argument broke out between the four, Silver, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire.

Green put his head in his hands. _'Why does this have to happen near me?'_

* * *

?'s POV

Near the house, a light appeared in the middle of the yard. Something green poked out.

"Pi-riii! Pi-riii!"


	2. The Tapping

Chapter 2

Gold's POV

"Everyone gather round! Time to eat!"

_'Finally! I was waiting for dinner!'_ Gold thought. He could smell all the delicious foods coming from the kitchen, and even swiped a few for a pre-dinner snack. He knew if Crys caught him, he would get another scolding and a beating, but that cake was worth it. Now, though, he could get a full meal.

"Gold, how much food are you going to pile onto your plate? I think you put on three servings of everything," Crystal scolded, "You shouldn't take so much, as we still need food for ten people."

"Chillax Crys. There's plenty for everyone," Gold argued, "It's okay if I just, say, load a couple of eggs on, take a few slices of bread, a couple spoonfuls of rice… you know, what you have on your plate is looking good. Maybe I'll take a bit of these ribs, a slice of steak, and maybe so–"

Crys slapped his hand away. "Stop that!" she exclaimed. "Eat your own food, and not mine! I even took a bite from that slice of pie already!"

"Oh really?" Gold grinned, then took a bite, "Indirect kiss."

Crystal flushed. She pushed his chair over, then kicked him in the stomach. "Never again!" She shouted with a very red face.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Crystal froze. "What was that?" They both turned towards the window.

* * *

Blue's POV

"Everyone gather round! Time to eat!"

Off to her side, Gold was teasing Crys again again, Ruby and Sapphire competing to see who could eat more food, Yellow was being awkward near Red, Emerald was sitting uncomfortably next to a silent Silver, and Green was working on the project that he was doing for the entire meeting.

Thus, Blue took it upon herself to actually get Green to do something instead of work all day and night, when he should be spending time with the other Dexholders.

"Green. Green. Green. Green." Blue repeated.

"What is it, pesky woman?" he asked irately, looking up from his report.

"You should stop working and have fun! None of the other assistants are working, only you," Blue stated, "You haven't even touched your food!"

"Well that's because unlike you, I have responsibilities. My grandfather is relying on me to finish this report, and it could revolutionize the thinking about evolution."

"It would be setting a better example for your juniors if you actually spent time with your friends! We have enough workaholics in our group already!"

"Better than a thieves and pranksters", Green muttered.

"What was that?" Blue interrogated.

"Nothing, annoying woman."

Blue frowned. "I'll let that go for now… in order to make you actually do something besides work!" She snatched Green's report away and giggled.

Green just sighed. "You've done this before Blue. You think I haven't learned my lesson?" He took out a notepad and continued to work.

Blue frowned again. "You just don't stop do you? Well, it seems I'll have to delve into my blackmail information. You wouldn't want everybody to know what happened with that fangirl who happened to sneak into your bedroom that night would you?"

Green froze.

"Oh? It seems that got a reaction. Well, should I tell people about the time when Daisy decided your gym didn't have enough "sparkle" to it? Or even the time wh–" Blue was cut off by a hand pressed against her mouth.

"All right, all right," Green hissed. "What do you want?"

"Well first, it would be nice if you loosened up, talked with your friends and juniors more, and overall had a bit of fun!" _Tap. Tap. Tap._ "So now, I'm gonna start a conversation with Silver, he's been a bit too quiet. I'm sure it would be in your best interests to join in, don't y–"

Green interrupted her again, "What is that tapping?" They both turned towards the window.

* * *

Ruby's POV

"Mmmm… Dinner! Can't wait!" drooled Sapphire.

"Can't you show any table manners? A true lady would be sitting gracefully, with elegance and poise. You just hunch over, waiting for your food."

"Well that's cause I actually want to eat! When I see you eating, you barely eat a plate of food when everybody's finished! Are you sure you can even eat that much?" she challenged.

"Of course I can," Ruby responded, "I just don't want to dirty my clothes like a _barbarian._"

"Oh yeah? How about a bet then?

"Fine! If I win, the next week, at every single meal, you must eat _properly_, and maybe wear a dress that I designed for you."

"And if I win, you can't change clothes, shower, or clean for a week, nor can you do the same for your Pokémon!"

Ruby looked stricken. _'Well, I guess I'd better win then!'_ he thought. Aloud, he said, "You're on!"

A few minutes later…

"Everyone gather round! Time to eat!"

Ruby was piling food in his mouth at an astonishing rate. His clothes had about a dozen different stains, but it meant that he could remain neck and neck with Sapphire in the competition. Already, they finished their sixth plate, and were drawing a couple of odd stares from the other Dexholders. Ruby hoped that Sapphire would stop eating soon. If not, the next morning promised a really bad stomachache, but it would be worth it. The food just kept on coming, all the meat, vegetables, grains, and various foods that didn't really mix well together, but had to be finished. Ruby chanced a glance over, and actually saw Sapph slow down a bit. _'Yes! I may actually be able to win this bet!'_ He quickly hurried up his eating, finishing his sixth plate and moving on to a seventh. Unfortunately, about halfway through, a cramp forced him to stop for a second. "Ohhh…" he groaned. He looked over to Sapphire, and what he saw shocked him. Apparently, her slowing down was just a ploy, as she was shoving food into her mouth at an even faster rate. In a matter of minutes, she finished her seventh, and then an eighth. Ruby started to go green looking at all the food now. Sapph kicked her chair back, and sighed with content.

"Ha! What did I say girly boy? Look who just won!"

"I cannot believe you did that! You faked me out!"

"What? You actually thought that you could eat more than me? Looks like I won the bet! No cleaning for an entire week!" she gloated. _Tap. Tap. Tap._ "How does that feel?"

"Wait a second. Did you hear something?"

"You're just trying to distract me so I forget that you lost our bet! I'm not falling for that!"

"Oh, you think so? Well let me tell you…"

And an argument was heard from the couple for the next several minutes.

* * *

Yellow's POV

"Everyone gather round! Time to eat!"

Yellow was feeling very uncomfortable. Blue had managed to convince Crys to put her in charge of the seating arrangements. So naturally, she put Yellow next to Red after so called "prepping" her on what to do during this time.

Also naturally, the advice was completely embarrassing and involved Yellow doing things that she would not bear to do.

_'Make sure that you confess your true love for him!' 'Make sure that you tell him that you've loved him for years!' 'Make sure that you suggest that you want to kiss him passionately and make babies with him!' _Well Yellow had a few choice suggestions where Blue could stick her advice after hearing it. Not that she would ever actually say them.

It seemed like everyone knew about her feelings for Red. Blue of course found out by looking at Yellow's obvious hints. She remembered the words that shocked her into unconsciousness. _"Hey Yellow! How are things with Red? Told him about your unrequited love yet?"_ Then she had the nerve to tell Green… _"Yellow. You better make a move on Red fast or else he'll hook up with someone else. I wouldn't normally meddle, that's Blue's job, but I say this because your feelings are kinda obvious."_ Next had to be Silver… _"Yellow. Sis told me about how much you love Red, and she impressed on me how vital it was to tell you to confess to him." _It would have been more convincing if it wasn't in a full monotone… Unlike Gold's… _"Hey Senior Yellow! How are things with you and Senior Red? I know that Red's denser than anybody I know, but you might have told him how you felt, and if you haven't… Better do so quick!"_ Next was Crystal… _"Senior Yellow! Everybody's seen how you look at Senior Red! Why don't you just confess to him already?_ The Hoenn trio decided to tell her they knew all together… Sapphire… _"Yellow! You should just confess to Red already!" _Ruby… _"Yeah! It's kinda obvious. In fact, once you do, I bet I could make the perfect dress for you!" _Even Emerald… _"Yellow. Just do it already. All the unrequited love in the air is making me a little sick."_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Hey Yellow," Red said in that oh-so-dreamy voice that sounded like a river flowing in nature with Pidgey calls, and a violin playing in the background… You did not just hear that.

"Yellow? Anyone there?"

"Ah! Yes, Red?" Yellow asked, with a light pink on her cheeks.

"Well, you know how Blue dragged you away for 'training'?" Red asked.

"Vividly," Yellow nodded her head.

"Well, what were you doing during the week that she was training you?"

Yellow blushed, recalling the events of the prior week. "Umm… We… Ahh… We…" At this point, Yellow was blushing so madly, she started to overheat.

"Hey Yellow? You alright? Your face is really red. Do you have a fever or something?" Red inquired concernedly. "Here let me check your temperature," and with that he put his hand on her forehead. "Wow, you're really warm. Here let me take you to a couch so you can get some rest." And as if he didn't think she was blushing enough, he picked her up bridal-style, and carried her to the nearest couch. "Do you need anything?"

"N-no, I'm okay."

"Alright then."

"…"

"Hey Yellow?"

"Yes?"

"You don't mind if I take a breather and lie down next to you do you?" At his words, an observant watcher could have noticed a light blush on his face.

"Umm… I guess?"

"Great!" He lay next to her.

"Wow… His body is really warm, and comfortable, and he smells nice, kind of like the forest…" _Tap. Tap. Tap._ "…"

"Hey Yellow, did you hear that?"

But there was no reply, as Yellow was dozing as she was lying on Red's chest.

* * *

Silver's POV

"Everyone gather round! Time to eat!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Oh come on Silver! Say something!" Emerald was exasperated after spending ten minutes in silence

"…Hello…"

"What kind of 'something' is that?"

"Well what do you expect me to say?" frowned Silver.

"I don't know! Something like… How's your day?"

"…How's your day?" replied Silver in a monotone.

"Ugh. Well, my day's can be described by the word annoyed. I've had to spend nearly half the time getting that lovey-dovey couple to shut their faces! They can't stop arguing for ten minutes, before they find something to disagree on," Ranted Emerald, "and yet even after I manage to quiet them down, the instant I leave and walk back, they start arguing again! It's like they're not even… Are you even listening?"

"Hmm?" Silver's eyes snapped back to Emerald. "What'd you say?"

"I said, 'Are you even listening?' What were you looking at?" Emerald strained his head to see from Silver's position. His eyes fell on Blue and Green. "Aha! Jealous that Blue sat next to Green are you?"

Silver immediately flushed. "N-no. Not at all. I could hardly care what Sis is doing with that stuck up prat."

Emerald grinned. "Sounds like a class of first hand jealousy! You have a crush on Blue, don't you? Well, it's apparent that she likes you. Don't worry a bit."

"Hmm…" Silver thought about that. "I guess you could be right. It shouldn't matter that much." _Tap. Tap. Tap._ "Hey. What was that?" They both turned to the window.

* * *

?'s POV

It was flying by the window, trying to attract attention. _Tap. Tap. Tap._ Six pairs of eyes looked over. One person opened the window, and it flew in.

"Is that… Celebi?"


	3. The Vortex

Chapter 3

Celebi's POV

"Is that… Celebi?" I asked. It was redundant though, who could mistake that plant-like body? Admittedly, it did not look as well as the one they met three years ago, but there was a good reason for it. Its head was stooped, and it was excessively tired and… sorrowful.

Well not anymore. Upon seeing the group, it immediately brightened up.

"Pi-rii, pi-riii, riiii!"

"Hey Yellow. What's it saying?" Blue inquired.

"Umm… Let me see," Yellow replied.

A light glow enveloped Yellow's hands as they touched Celebi. Celebi allowed the girl to take some of its memories to answer questions.

"This Celebi is from about a couple hundred years in the future. Wars are ravaging the regions, and terrible people are in control. It's a terrible world. They need our help to save the world."

"They? What 'they' is this?" Crystal asked.

"It seems like the legendaries of the future are calling us."

"Well why do they need our help in the first place? Aren't they almighty gods of the universe?" Gold questioned.

Yellow repeated the action, but this time Celebi resisted. They couldn't know just yet.

"I don't know… Celebi doesn't want to tell me…"

"So, when do we leave?" Red asked with a confident smile.

"…"

"…What? Did I say something wrong?" Red wore a confused smile.

"Yes…" Silver answered. "What on earth makes you think that we will just travel hundreds of years into the future, just to save these people that brought it down on themselves? They should be able to solve their own problems!"

Blue frowned. "While I agree with Silver, he didn't have to put it _that _harshly."

Green nodded. "I feel the same. Why should they get help if they put themselves in the mess?

"Well, I think that we should help them," Yellow volunteered. "They deserve to live good lives, and if we can help, we should."

"Yeah, I'm with Red and Yellow on this one," Sapphire commented, "if people are in need, then we should help them!"

"Of course you would Sapph," Ruby said scornfully. "They don't deserve help if they can't do anything for themselves."

"Oh really? You're just gonna leave them to fend for themselves when the need help?"

Eventually, half the Dexholders were arguing to go, and half were arguing the opposite. Red, Yellow, Crystal, Sapphire, and Emerald were trying to convince people to go, but the others wouldn't move an inch. Celebi was frantically figuring out a way to get them to come with it, without angering too many people.

The argument quickly escalated, the circle turned into two lines with jabbing fingers and raised voices.

"How could you just leave people to fend for themselves when they need help?"

"Well, they shouldn't need help! They have the whole world behind them, and they can't be able to fight for themselves?"

"Listen to how heartless you sound! I can't believe you would say something like that!"

"Well aren't you taking the moral high ground. We have already done enough. When can we just sit back and relax?"

Celebi was getting really annoyed at this point. Before things got too out of hand, Celebi raised its hands, and a green glow enveloped it and all the Dexholders.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Put us down! We haven't agreed yet!" Gold shouted.

"Piiiii-riiiiiii!"

A green portal opened to the side and sucked all ten Dexholders in.

"Aaahhh!"

In moments, they were flying through a green vortex. Despite all their efforts, they were moving faster and faster and after a while of this, all resistance halted. Numb acceptance was written on the faces of all the Dexholders. Celebi sighed. Finally, it could have some peace. At least, that's what it thought. In that instant, a burst of pain shot through Celebi, and the time vortex cracked. Celebi shook with the exertion of traveling through time with ten passengers in its already weakened state. Small holes materialized, trying to displace the Dexholders away from where they needed to be.

"W-what's going on?"

"I'm too young to die! I'm too young to die!"

Celebi gave one last massive effort, and shot the Dexholders as close as it could to its present. And with that accomplished, it gave an exhausted sigh, and rested against a tree.

* * *

Crystal's POV

The Dexholders were being shot forward in the middle of a cracking portal to a time that they didn't know. They've had some low points in their careers, but this took the cake. Crystal held as close as possible to her friends in hopes of staying together. But, to her horror, it seemed a certain individual was losing his grip.

"AAHHHH!" Emerald screamed as his Magic-Hand-Extenders slipped. "HELP ME!"

"We'll save you!" Sapphire and Ruby shouted. They quickly grabbed onto his hands… to lose their grip on their seniors and plummet away. After falling through one of the time holes, the Dexholders could see them no more.

Yet, this was the least of their troubles. In a frantic scramble to hold their friends dear, everybody could feel a slowing down, and the remaining seven imitated the Hoenn trio's descent. Tumbling through a small hole, they fell, fell, fell… and landed on a hard concrete surface.

"Ugh," Crystal groaned, as she rose up. Looking up, she came face to face with a small child. The child in question promptly ran off screaming about aliens falling from the sky.

A crowd began to gather and talked to each other in hushed voices.

"Did you see that? They just fell out of the sky!"

"No, I saw them fall out of some green portal! What are they?"

"They _look_ like normal people. What on earth could they be?"

Crystal closed her eyes to stop the headache coming on. _'Where the hell are we?'_

"Johto Guard! Stand back! We are armed and ready to attack!"

Crys opened her eyes, and saw a group of soldiers in front of her. They were an odd looking bunch, dressed in yellow armor and carrying very nasty looking rods with them. A few powered theirs up and then Crystal could hear electricity humming from within. She held up her hands in a peaceful gesture. "We mean no harm," she stated, "Can you please help us?"

Her words only caused more whispering among the crowd.

"She can speak our language! What do we do?"

"I don't know. What can we do?"

The soldier that appeared in charge cocked his head, and spoke through an earpiece. "No, we don't know what they are. They fell from the sky in a green portal. Yes, I am speaking the truth. Detain them? Are those orders? Very well."

"Wait a second," Silver interrupted. "Detain? That doesn't sound very p–"

His next words were cut off as one of the guards fired his weapon at him, shooting a kind of blue electricity, and knocking Silver out. The other Dexholders hurriedly pulled out their Pokéballs, but one by one, they fell to the bursts of electricity. Crystal was the last to fall. Her brain registered an excruciating pain, before falling into thankful blackness.

* * *

?'s POV

"Have they been successfully captured?" A man surrounded by wealth asked his chief Guard.

"Yes sir! There were signs of attempted resistance, but they were all knocked unconscious, sir!"

"Good. Did they have anything of value on them?"

"Yes sir! They had six Pokémon apiece, which we could use for energy, sir!"

"Very good. In the meantime, they can enjoy our pleasant fortress. In the jailhouse," the unknown man chuckled to himself. "Try not to kill them just yet. Make them suffer instead."


	4. The Deal

Chapter 4

Yellow's POV

Having been locked in a single cell for a week, Yellow was extremely depressed. The meager rations and constant boredom only served to sink Yellow's mood even further. All the Dexholders were experiencing the harsh conditions, but Yellow had it worst of all. Her gift of the Viridian Forest was soon becoming a terrible nightmare. Firstly, her powers were becoming slowly weaker, and becoming a sinkhole for all her energy. She imagined that it was because of the use of all the new technology. In a week, she had seen so many things that blew her mind that she was almost in a permanent state of shock. The worst part of being her though, was that all the anguish of the Pokémon imprisoned in the jailhouse became the soundtrack to her terrible imprisonment. Various Pokémon were in pain, and seemed to be declaring it just to make Yellow feel terrible.

"No! Not mama!" A baby Horsea was screaming.

"Listen to me! I can't give anymore! Why do you keep torturing me?" A Rapidash moaned pitifully.

"…Just kill me already…" an Alakazam groaned. Yellow winced upon hearing the depressing message.

"Hey! Boy with the straw hat!" A young girl ordered.

Yellow slowly raised her head. Most likely her guards had come to torment her. How, she didn't want to think about. Maybe they thought her steel cell was too comfortable. Maybe they thought that she'd been getting too much food or water. Whatever it was, it did not foretell a good future for Yellow.

Sure enough, a teenager dressed in the Guard uniform came up. In fact, she was probably even younger than Yellow, around sixteen-ish. _'How did they corrupt her?'_ She shook her head in despair. To think she had thought that this world could have been saved.

"Come with me! I'll get you out of here!" She took a set of keys out of her pocket. Yellow recognized them as keys to the cell doors.

Or not. She looked up hopefully, and got a good look at her savior. Even in the serious looking Guard suit, she managed to look like a troublemaker. It was clearly marked in her pale gold eyes, and her face was the thing Yellow couldn't miss because the red suit covered her head to toe with only a visor in the helmet.

"We got most of the others out already. It's a shame that we can't save everybody in the building, but we're working at it."

_CLANG_

The door opened and fell off its hinges. Yellow looked on it with bewilderment. _'I could have just pushed the door, and it would have broken?'_

"Dammit," the girl swore. "I hope nobody heard that… Oh shit."

The last remark came after both Yellow and the girl looked to see a group of guards running towards them.

"Guess there's nothing for it," she said as she pulled out a … billiards cue? Well this was the future. Some people would likely adopt her junior Gold's mannerisms. The girl in question twirled the cue and slammed it directly into the face of an oncoming guard. Yellow watched as the girl managed to take out several men much larger and older at her. Only after six men were lying on the floor, did she step back to admire her handiwork.

"Well, let's get a move on," she chirped. "Time's a ticking, and I do not want to have to use my gun. Dead is so much messier than unconscious."

Yellow looked at her oddly. There didn't appear to be a gun on her person, but then again, she didn't see the cue until it came out. And also, this girl younger than her was talking about killing other people so calmly, even if she didn't want to. Well, it didn't matter too much to Yellow. Better to hurry out and reunite with her friends. "Where's the exit?" she asked.

The girl laughed, "Exit? You think we could just stroll out the front door? No, if we want to get out, we gotta make our own route. Now, stand back." She drew a grenade and tossed it near a wall. Yellow quickly scrambled into cover and waited.

_BOOM!_

"Ahahaha! That was fun! Well, don't you want to see your friends? Yes? Well then let's go!"

They ran out of the gaping hole in the wall, as alarms blared. Outside was different from the high-tech looking fortress. It was simply a village with rough paths and dingy houses. What appeared to be a hovercraft was waiting for them, and a fifteen year old stood there impatiently. The hovercraft was a real work of art. Sleek and smooth, it had a driver and passenger seat, with a large compartment in the back for any other passengers or cargo.

"Gem," she started, "How come your so called rescue sent all the alarms off? All the other ones were carried out with finesse, and not a single person was alerted. Yours on the other hand now has half the Johto Guard on our heels."

"Ah chill! It's gonna be fine. I got the prisoner out, so all's good! Everyone else is out?" replied Gem, then she frowned. "No names right? Why'd you just use mine?"

The other girl laughed. "Whoops! I forgot. Anyways, last I heard, five are safe and headed to HQ, and we're working on the last one." She turned to Yellow, "Well, hop in! We have to go soon before people have to die. And the dying won't be done by us. Between me and Gem, we could account for the deaths of at least everybody on our trail, not that we want to."

Yellow perked her ears. There it was again! Somewhat young people talking about killing so calmly. It was a sick world. She couldn't wait to return to her own peaceful time.

"Come on," the girl rolled her eyes. "We don't have all day, and like I said, we don't want any death on this mission."

What could Yellow do? She got in the car, and they flew off to an unknown destination, where hopefully her friends were waiting.

* * *

Crystal's POV

Crystal was going through a surprising series of events. Her rescue had started out like Yellow's had, and gone through smoothly, until the time where they were going to make their exit. Crystal's rescuer had obtained a Guard suit, courtesy of someone who was lying unconscious in a closet, for her to wear. Once the two were about to walk out the front door, did things get messy.

"Freeze!" Within moments, a group of guards had the two surrounded, and had their weapons charged up. "Hands in the air!"

The man escorting Crystal out took out what seemed to be a wooden staff and quickly whacked three of the men into unconsciousness. However, in doing so, he failed to notice the other Guards about to fire their weapons.

_ZAP_

Crystal looked on in horror as the other three managed to shock the man. He was lying twitching on the floor, and as the Guards turned their sights on her, she took a step back.

"You're next," announced one of the men.

"Keep on dreaming." A young boy announced as he strolled in, and with another staff and a single long sweep, the guards were knocked back. As Crystal watched, she had one thought, _'What is it with this world and staves?' _He grabbed Crys and the unconscious "savior" and pulled them into a waiting hovercraft.

"Good. We've finished with minimal losses," he said as he turned to Crys and gave a terse smile. "We're headed back to HQ. Just stay put."

"What's your name?" Crystal asked.

The boy hesitated a second before replying, "I don't feel comfortable telling you that yet. Just sit tight and wait."

Soon enough, they flew into a dead end in an obscure corner of the place. Crystal was unimpressed. "This is your headquarters? No wonder you can't do that much."

"You'll see," the boy replied. They floated down and got off, dragging the other guy behind them.

They walked through into one of the shabby houses, and through a shabby corridor to see… an extremely high-tech door.

The boy placed his eye against a retina scanner and a mechanical voice responded, "Retina match. Identified as Opal." The boy, or Opal as Crys was pleased to call him, winced and the door hissed open.

Behind was a room filled to the brim with circuitry and a large computerized hologram display table in the center. Several hallways connected the entry room to other parts of the building, but Crystal's eyes fell on the chairs surrounding the cool holo-table. Or more importantly, what was in them.

"Crystal!" Gold cried as he rose up from his chair.

Everyone rose as one to greet Crys and give thanks that seven of the Dexholders were together again. A lot of hugging went on, even from the stoic Green and Silver.

"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we have things to discuss," Opal cut in. Silenced, all of the Dexholders took a seat and started listening.

"You are all here courtesy of the Resistance, a group fighting the injustice of the government and the cruelty of the criminal mobs. We were informed that you were being held captive from an anonymous source, and have received confirmation that you are Dexholders of some sort, and have been in many, how do I put this, _events_ in the past. We were also informed that you were supposed to have lived in times long past. Due to your resiliency and resourcefulness, we have been instructed to first debrief you about our current situation…"

"By me." A young man walked into the room. He strolled in an easygoing manner and reclined in a chair. "I know all about you Dexholders. I've heard so much that I don't even know where to start!"

"You can start, by giving us your name and information," Silver angrily stated. "I'm tired of being out of the loop, and it's time we got some answers."

"Ha! Just like I've read! Silver right? Well I can give you some answers. First, my name… can't be given. Yet. But maybe later!" He grinned annoyingly. "Second, information. What kind?"

Crystal put her head in her hands. Arceus, this guy was indirect. She wanted to punch him. Evidently, Silver felt the same way. His fists clenched, before loosening. "Tell us where we are," he spoke, his voice strained.

"Easy. You're in New Bark City, capital of Johto."

Green spoke at that. "New Bark City? It's New Bark Town!"

The man snickered. "Not anymore. Did what you see look just like a town?"

"Well, yes," Green replied. "It was barely industrialized, and very old-fashioned."

"You've just seen the poor section of the city. That fortress wasn't so old-fashioned was it? You just haven't seen the real city yet."

Blue voiced another question. "What year is it?"

"Well, from the time you were born, it's been about, a hundred fifty years. Pretty long huh?"

This time Yellow asked the question. "How do you know about us?"

He snorted. "I wouldn't be much of an information master if I didn't know things would I?" He smiled sheepishly. "Plus, I've heard about your adventures in my bedtime stories when I was young."

"Bedtime stories?" Everyone's eyes were open wide.

"Yeah. You guys were idols y'know? For my family at least. Apparently, nobody else knows about you. I've managed to dig up the few manuscripts detailing your adventures though. I'm pretty sure that nobody has seen them. I have them in my library in fact. I'll show em to you later."

Crystal shook her head. "Whatever. What I want to know is, why are we here?" The other Dexholders nodded in agreement.

The guy grimaced. "Well that's one thing I can't answer. Tell me instead. Why _are _you here?"

"Well… basically, Celebi abducted us, took us here after it told us how your planet was in danger, and needed us to save you."

"Hmm… Well we could always use some extra hands!" He turned to Opal, who was dozing nearby. "Hey! What do you say? Let them join?"

"Hang on a sec! Did we ever say we wanted to help your worthless planet?" Blue answered.

The man glared at her. "Well you are Dexholders! Isn't it your duty to help out or something? And are you saying you don't want to help?"

"I'm saying we just want to go home. With our lost juniors and Pokémon." She responded.

"Well, how about we strike something of a deal?"

Everybody perked their ears.

Blue scowled suspiciously. "What kind of deal?"

"You help us out in anything we need, and I'll work on how to get you home. I might even start sometime soon if you do well."

"No." Green instantly said. "What guarantee do we have that you're actually going to help us?"

"Well we can give you this. Hey!" He turned to Opal again.

"You don't have to refer to me as 'Hey!' you know. That one over there already learned my name. The one with blue hair and anti-gravity pigtails."

"Anti-gravity pigtails? Seriously?" Crystal said.

The man looked shocked. "How could you let that happen? And to think that you actually belong on El–"

Opal quickly glared at him. "It was thanks to your retina scanner! Why did you feel the need to have it say the name of the person it was scanning?"

Blue quickly cut the conversation off. "Let's stop this argument and talk about what you were about to give us."

The man reluctantly agreed. "All right. Opal. Go get the little present that we managed to pick up." Opal walked away and opened a door. Crystal could hear him saying, "Come out! Your owners are here!"

Crystal gasped. Red started to say, "Does that mean you have…"

Seven Pokémon ran out, each going to a separate person. Red knelt down to greet Pika, Blue squeezed Ditty, Green nodded to Charizard, and Yellow ran and hugged Chuchu. Meanwhile, Crystal went over to Arckee, Silver reunited with Weavile, and Gold ran over to Togebo. But the reunion was quickly dispelled by a single comment.

"Where are the rest of our Pokémon?" Gold asked. Everybody looked around, but they were nowhere to be found. Soon, fourteen total glares were pointed straight at the man.

"Whoa! No need for unpleasantness! We managed to only find seven!"

"Oh yeah? How can we trust you?" Red shot back.

"I'd say you have no choice. Unless you'd want to go back to jail."

We all sighed. "Fine. What are the terms? Crystal answered.

"Simple. You become a part of the Resistance, helping us accomplish our goals, and etc. and I'll work on getting your friends and Pokémon, and search on how to get you guys home. Deal?"

"Wait a second. What are your goals?"

"Oh, you'll find out if you agree and do well. That's category seven info. Right now, you're not worth anything in our eyes. So, what do you say?"

Crystal looked around, and saw confirmation in the eyes of everybody present. "Deal."

"Great! Cause I already awesomely found those friends you were looking for! In fact, they were the ones to tell me that you were coming! I've kept my eyes and ears open and found you guys. Opal, bring em in!"

"I'm not your slave, you know! Your only authority is where you send me for missions!"

"Yeah, sure," The man brushed him off. "Just get the three."

Grumbling, Opal set off. A few minutes later a shriek could be heard.

"You mean they're here? In this building? Now?"

"Finally! It's been so long!"

Through a hallway entered their juniors, Ruby, Sapph, and Emerald. Glee was in their eyes, but something was different about them. Everyone gasped as they noticed it.

"Whoa." Gold commented. "How long have you guys been here?"

* * *

?'s POV

"Umm… Sir?" A trembling guard walked into the room. "There's something you should know…"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, you know those weird seven kids we found a week ago?"

"Yes, what about them. Don't tell me. They're dead aren't they? Dammit, I wanted them to suffer!"

"Well, no…"

The man looked at him suspiciously. "Well then what happened?"

"Well, the Resistance kind of broke them out."

"What?"

"I said, the Resistance kind of broke them out. Oh, and they also took the seven Pokémon we were going to take the energy of."

"WHAT?!"

"I said t–"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"

The soldier flinched, and broke out a sweat. The boss wasn't taking the news very well… "W-we're not sure yet. We're working on it though!"

"You better have them back in a month. If not…" The man drew a gun, and fired it just over the guards head. "You'd better not come back."

"Y-yes sir!" The guard hastily left.

The man sighed. He knew what was significant about those children. And soon, he would have them back in his grasp.


	5. The Four Missions

Chapter 5

Emerald's POV

"What do you mean, how long have we been here? We can't look that different! It's only been a year," Emerald replied to Gold's outburst.

Everyone else gaped.

"An entire year? You've been waiting an entire year for us?" Crystal cried out.

"Well yeah!" Ruby grinned. "And we've found you guys too! That's the best part! You won't believe what we've learned about this world. There have been some incredible advances... and some jumps backwards too."

"Yeah, in the city it's amazing, but here, it's kind of decrepit." Sapphire put in.

"Whoa, hold your horses. Plenty of time to discuss after we've judged your potential and let you guys in or throw you guys out. Now first, we've got four tasks for you to prove your worth. Think of it like a warm up for times ahead. How many do we have? One... Two... Three... Ten! Hmm... That's not very divisible by three..." The still unknown man thought deeply.

"Well, we do have those two new recruits," Opal said. "You know, the girl that runs that company and the her employee?"

"Oh, you know we do!" He smiled. "Bring them in and introduce them to their new teammates!"

"How many people are you going to bring in?" Yellow asked incredulously.

"This should be the last batch."

Emerald watched as a boy with black pants, a blue jacket, and a cap covering his messy hair walked towards them with a pink cloud floating nearby him. Behind him, there was a girl with short jeans, a black vest over a white tee, and a cap over her ponytail. A green snake was walking alongside her.

"Hi! I'm White! I'm president of the BW Agency! This is Amanda, my Servine! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The girl bent low, as she was speaking.

"I'm Black, and with Musha... I'M GONNA BE THE CHAMPION OF THE POKEMON LEAGUE! I'M REALLY, REALLY, REALLY GONNA WIN! WATCH OUT OTHER COMPETITORS!" He shouted.

Emerald clutched his ears in agony. Around him, everyone else did the same.

"Ow... I think you just broke my eardrums," Emerald complained. "Can you not do that? I enjoy being able to hear."

"I'll do it outside then..." he grumbled.

"No you don't! You wanna broadcast our location to everyone in a ten mile radius?" Opal instantly responded.

"...I won't do it anymore..." He put his head down.

"Attaboy! Now, there are twelve of you here. Normally, we have groups of three, because it's enough to get the job done, while retaining the option of stealth. Pick your groups. We'll be back soon."

"Wait. You have presidents of companies in your movement?" Gold asked.

The man winked. "You haven't seen the furthest end of our scope yet. We only have around a hundred members in all of the five regions, but they all count. Most are just informants, but we even have the richest family of all of the world in our movement. They're mainly the reason why you see a lot of the technology that you do. Maybe if you do well enough, you can even see what you've sided with, and unfortunately, what you're truly up against." With that, the unknown man walked out with Opal, leaving the Dexholders and the two newcomers.

* * *

3rd Person POV

"Well let's introduce ourselves," Red said confidently. "I'm Red!" After introductions were made, it was decided that each Kanto Dexholder would lead a team.

Blue received first pick, as she was the oldest, by a little. Naturally she chose Silver, and he moved to her.

Red grinned and predictably pointed at Gold, who ran over.

Green nodded towards Crystal, and she joined his team.

Yellow was uncertain of who to pick. She glanced at Ruby, who nodded encouragingly and pointed at him.

Green picked first on the next round, as he received his Pokédex first. He thought deeply for a second, then picked Sapphire, who looked disappointed for a second, then smiled, and walked over.

Red thought, then picked Black. "You wanted to become Champion of the Pokémon league right? Well, I'm sure I could help. I was Champion of the Eleventh League after all," Red said.

Black's eyes sparkled. "Really? And you'll help me? THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" Everybody cringed again.

"Sure, just try not to scream like that."

Blue looked at the remaining choices, White and Emerald, and thought. _'Red and Green have both trained people before. And Red's getting another! I'd better get my own apprentice to train, Blue style!'_ She grinned deviously as she pointed at White. White flinched at the look Blue was giving her, but cautiously moved over.

Emerald looked slightly depressed at being the last one, but warmed up after seeing Yellow and Ruby's smiles.

"All right! Are we all done?" The man walked in, notably without Opal this time. After seeing nods of confirmation, he smiled. "Great! Now, Red! Your team will go and capture a weapons truck being moved for government use. The government here is corrupt, so we want to deprive them of weapons."

Red nodded his agreement. "We'll get those weapons."

"The truck is scheduled to leave in three days, so be ready. Green, your team will break up a small group of criminals that are harassing civillians and undercover Resistance agents.

Green accepted with a short, "Alright."

"Blue, your team will escort five of our men out of jail to safe houses where they can stay safe from harm"

"Okay."

"And Yellow, your team will rescue a group of Pokémon being moved to the... euthanization center for Pokémon."

Everyone gasped.

"Th-that's terrible! They have a center for that?!" Yellow's eyes were glinting, and her fists tightened. "Alright. I'll do it. Will any of our Pokémon be there?"

"No, the government only puts down Pokémon that don't seem able to produce enough energy for them or have already been exhausted. It's sickening, and we try to rescue as many Pokémon as we can. Your Pokémon are extremely strong, so they can provide lots of energy."

"You keep talking about energy. What the hell is it, and how are Pokémon able to be used for it?" Silver asked.

"Well, energy is just the term used. We define energy as the connection with nature, and it also controls aspects of yourself such as personality. It is increased through your bond with nature, and the flow of the universe. Pokémon have always had exceptional ties to nature, and so have massive amounts of energy. We have even discovered that Pokémon go through levels, depending on how much experience they have with nature, and the more experience they have, the higher their level is, and so they become stronger. Supposedly, people also have energy, but the people tested on have shown such little energy, that they don't bother with any extracts. Some people though, have stronger connections with nature, and thus, have better personality traits. Stronger mental resilience, faster reflexes, absolute focus on goals. Even loyalty, respect, and refinement can be affected by energy. It's incredible." The man's eyes were starry with awe after his enormous lecture. "The problem is, nature is slowly being subtracted from our lives, and the world. Since energy's ties are solely based on nature, all Pokémon's abilities seem weakened, from attack to defense to speed. Apparently, their your most powerful weapons, so I might be careful about using them in battle against the Guards and their tasers. In the criminal gangs, they use different types of weapons, but they're guaranteed to hurt like a bitch."

Incredibly to everyone, Green and Crystal were taking notes on what the man just said. Crystal raised her hand. "What's the greatest amount of energy every found in a human?"

"Well, supposedly, there was a hair found in a hat that displayed shocking amounts of energy, equivalent to a Pokémon's, but I'm sure it's just a myth. Probably got an actual Pokémon's hair by mistake."

Crystal nodded. "Okay."

"Yeah... Alright, where were we?"

"You were going to tell us your name." Blue immediately said.

"Okay. It's T... Hey! Wait a minute! I can't believe you almost got away with that!"

Blue snickered. "I can't believe you almost fell for that."

The man growled. "Whatever. So, you all understand your missions? Great! You have time to prepare, and I fully expect these missions to be handled. Our ordinary teams can carry out tasks like these. If you do well enough, we might give you a couple of the harder ones, maybe even some that the Elite Teams couldn't finish..." He shook his head. "Just get going. See you when you come back. IF you come back."

And with that final word, he left, leaving the twelve people behind them, looking fairly alarmed.


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 6

Black's POV

Black was standing uncomfortably with his employer and a group of ten people he didn't really know and was supposed to accomplish dangerous missions with. Needless to say, he was a bit nervous.

"So, Prez, how did we get into this situation again?" He asked.

"You don't remember?"

Actually, Black was pretty sure he did, but felt the need to ask about it. "Maybe you could give me a refresher?"

"Fine. It all started on the Ferris Wheel..."

_3 months ago_

"Black! Hurry up! We need Nite and Gigi prepared to go onstage in less than three minutes!"

Black groaned. Ever since he accidently burned hundreds of dollars worth of machinery, he was forced to work for Prez. He had to allow his once Tepig, now Pignite to perform onstage with Prez's Tepig Gigi, and do whatever she said, whenever she said it. They were currently in Nimbassa City, where Prez was helping to make a musical for Pokémon, and though it gave him time to challenge and defeat the Gym Leader, Elesa, he had to wait until she finished before moving to the next Gym. Despite this, it was nice travelling with Prez. It gave his heart a warm feeling, that he couldn't quite place, and made the journey a little less lonely than when he was travelling by himself.

"Come on Black! We need them now!"

Then again, maybe it wasn't so bad back then.

"All right, all right! Here he is. By the way, how much debt do I have left?"

White looked at her notebook. "Umm... After all the work you've been doing for me so far... You have..." She had a shocked expression on.

"Um, Prez?"

"Oh right! You have forty percent remaining! Now, get back to work!"

"Okay..."

Black sighed and walked away. He noticed a pause in White's answer, but soon dismissed it from his mind. He had the Pokémon League to train for and conquer. But now, Nite wasn't there, so he couldn't train his full team. "Alright, Tula, Musha, Brav, Goura! Let's train!" It was extremely rare to find Pokémon, but he started out with three. He was lucky to have even found two more. For some reason, Pokémon were appearing less and less, and were more likely found in the black market than in the wild. He'd even heard of rumors about undercover Pokémon fighting rings, where Pokémon fight to the death for entertainment. Black shuddered, and brought his focus back on training.

_30 minutes later_

Black wiped some sweat off of his forehead, and rested his team. They had made good progress, and he was pleased with the results. He recalled them to their Pokéballs, and walked towards where White was supposed to be filming. The director was standing by the set, overseeing the dismantling.

"Hey Director! Have you seen Prez?" The man turned around and waved in acknowledgment.

"I'm sorry, she just left a couple of minutes ago to return to her living quarters. Maybe you should check there? Oh, and before I forget, she left a Pokéball here! Maybe you should take it and bring it to her?"

Black nodded, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Nite's. He accepted the ball, then he became puzzled. Hadn't he just walked from their campsite to the set? He shrugged, thanked the director, and walked back, musing. However, his thoughts were soon distracted by the mumblings of a crowd.

"Did you see that girl fall from the Ferris Wheel?"

"Yeah, she's still laying there I think."

"But wasn't that guy helping her?"

"Has to have been. He was picking her up, after all..."

Black gasped. Prez had fallen from the Ferris Wheel? And what's more, she may be being abducted right now! He quickly stiffened up and ran to the carnival grounds. There, he was stopped by an officer.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? No unauthorized personnel allowed!" Despite being an officer, he didn't project an aura of authority. Black doubted that anything would get done, especially if officers like him were on the force.

"Please! My friend may have been hurt, and could be being taken as we speak! You have to let me though!"

"Didn't you hear me? No unauthorized personnel allowed! Besides I'm sure the girl's fine. The man who took her said that he was a friend!"

Black facepalmed. '_How did this man become an officer?'_"Okay, I won't go in. You win."

The officer puffed his chest out. "Of course you should listen to me. I have experience that you could only dream of!" He boasted.

"Yes, yes," Black nodded agreeingly. "I'll be going now."

A few minutes later he snuck behind the incompetent policeman, and was running to the site where White most likely was. Surprisingly, he found her, being carried by a suspicious looking man.

"Prez!" He shouted.

The man was being followed by a Servine, which Black instantly assumed to be the man's. He quickly whipped out his Pokéballs, and sent out Nite and Brav to fight.

"What are you doing with her?" He growled, prepared to fight The man looked up, startled, then sent out a Sawk and a Throh.

"Sawk, Stone Edge," he commanded. "Throh, use Retaliate!"

Black stared in awe as his greatly trained Pokémon fell at the same time, being unable to stand even one hit. The man towered intimidatingly above him. "That was because you did not follow manners, and I cannot forgive those who act without manners," He declared. "Who are you, and why did you attempt to attack me?"

Black got a closer look, and his heart stopped for a second. "M-M-Marshall of the Elite Four?" He managed to gasp out. "What are you doing with Prez?"

"Do you know this girl?" Marshall questioned. After seeing his nod of confirmation, he dumped the unconscious girl in Black's hands. "Then you should take her to a hospital. She doesn't seem hurt, but may likely have mental trauma. Hurry. I have somebody to meet." He turned, and started walking in the opposite direction.

"O-Okay! Sorry for attacking you head-on!" Black shouted after him.

"Hurry." was Marshall's final comment before leaving.

Black nodded and left.

_3 days later_

Black was getting anxious, he'd come as fast as he could when the doctors had said that Prez had woken up out of her coma. He was currently outside of her room, waiting for her nurse to come out and inform him that he could come in. Soon enough, a woman in a white coat opened the door and stepped into the spotless hallway.

She carefully judged Black, before saying, "Your girlfriend's fine, but just don't cause her any stress or exertion. That wouldn't help her condition.

Black was too anxious about White to correct the nurse's statement about her being his girlfriend. He just entered, and sighed in relief when he saw her sitting up, looking outside the window at the Ferris Wheel in the distance.

"Hey Prez," he started cautiously. "How are you?"

She didn't respond.

"What happened?"

White remained mute.

"You'll have to tell me eventually," Black said. The only response he received was more silence. So they sat there in silence. The silence was finally broken when White asked Black a question.

"What's it like battling?" she asked in a completely flat voice.

"What?" Black jumped at the sudden sound

"What's it like battling?" she repeated in that dead voice that made Black shiver a little.

"Why are you asking?"

"Gigi left to take up battling..." She looked down, and Black didn't need to see her face to know that tears were forming. _'So that's what happened..."_

He hurried to comfort her. "White, I'm sure that Gigi will realize that doing show biz with you is better than battling with someone else... Who took her away from you anyways?"

"...N..."

"N? The king of the criminal organization Team Plasma?! Why on earth would Gigi leave you to be with _him_?"

"I don't k... OH MY GOD!" White let out a shrill shriek and paled. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DOING HERE?"

Black turned and realized she was pointing to the Servine that had followed Marshall, and then White to the hospital. It had been laying on the floor when White woke up, so she must not have seen it.

"Prez? Do you know whose this is?"

She was shivering, and hiding underneath the covers, but still answered him. "It's N's! He used it to attack Gigi, and she fought back! After that she joined that green haired freak. What is it doing here? Get it away!"

"Shoo!" Black motioned for the Servine to go out the door, but she didn't budge. When he tried to push her out, she responded with a Vine Whip, and hit Black's hands.

"Ow!" Black held his hurt hand, and tried again.

In the end, since if he went near it he would get whipped, he positioned the curtain to hide it from White's line of sight.

"Is it gone?"

"Yeah, sure?"

She peeked out, and sighed in relief. The fact that she didn't realize that the Servine was simply behind a curtain made Black worry a bit for her stability.

"Actually Black, I'm not sure if Gigi made the right choice or not. So I'm going to find out. I need your help to teach me how to battle."

Black considered this for a second. _'Prez wants to learn how to battle... If I say no, being her employee, I would suffer consequences. If I say yes, then Prez would be doing the thing that caused her traumatization. What do I do?" _Behind those thoughts, was the interference of the words, _'WIN THE POKéMON LEAGUE. BEAT THE ELITE FOUR, BEAT THE CHAMPION."_

"Musha!" he called. The Pokémon gleefully chomped down on his head.

After seeing the silhouette in his mind, he nodded.

"Ok, Prez. I'll help you out."

"Oh, thank you Black!" she cried as she happily hugged him. "I was so afraid you'd say no!"

"N-no problem, Prez," he stuttered and felt grateful that she couldn't see the light pink on his cheeks because of her tears of relief.

"So, where do we start?" White asked, with her first smile on since Black came into the room.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you need a Pokémon to use for battle. They're really hard to find, and link with... Where can we find you a Pokémon?"

They both sat thinking. and Black took a look at the figure behind the curtain, and got an idea. First, he asked a question to White.

"Why did the Servine follow you instead of N?"

White shivered. "I don't know."

"Well, do you mind having it as your first Pokémon?"

White stared at him openmouthed. "NO!" She insisted.

"Well, why not?"

"I just can't. I can't" She was shaking her head over and over again, and though it broke Black's heart, he had to be able to convince her to do it.

"Think about it. Why do you think it would follow you? I'll say it. It's because it understood the horror than N was, and wanted to be with you in order to show him what he couldn't understand." In fact, Black wasn't sure what exactly happened, or what the reasons exactly were, but he after seeing a little light come into White's eyes, knew that it was one of the right things to do.

White took a clear look at the Servine, and smiled a little. The Pokémon merely nodded.

"Alright! Let's go train!"

_1 month later_

Black was really pleased with White's training results. She was beginning to gain confidence in herself, and began to adapt to situations. While her skill didn't hold a candle to his, she had made remarkable progress since when she started, and was afraid to call out a move. Though she had formed a strong bond with Amanda, her nicknamed Servine, she was the only Pokémon she had. Just as he was lamenting the fact, a stroke of luck hit them.

"Hey, Black." She pointed at a shadow in the woods. "What's that?"

He turned and looked. And gasped once it came out to graze on some grass nearby. "It's a Deerling! All the way here?"

"Aww, it's cute," White giggled. "Can you teach me how to catch it?"

"Of course Prez! Now, you have Pokéballs? How many? Ten? Good. Now use Amanda, weaken it, and throw a Pokéball at it."

"Okay! Amanda! Use Leaf Storm!"

The Deerling looked up, only to be barraged by a wall of leaves. Angered, it slammed it's body into Amanda, a move Black recognized as Take Down.

"Prez! Don't use too many ineffective moves! You can damage it more if you use moves that aren't Grass type!" He advised.

"Amanda doesn't know any other typed moves!" She shouted back

Black cursed. He should have foreseen this, but he had no idea that the first Pokémon they would encounter would be a Grass-type.

But when he looked back, the Deerling was shaken because of the aftereffects of Take Down, and the heavy hit Leaf Storm caused.

White was getting excited, and threw the Pokéball. Black held his breath. One shake... Two shakes... Three... Caught!

White screamed in joy. "I CAUGHT A POKéMON!" She shouted, in a volume that made Black a bit jealous.

"Great job!" he praised.

"I'm going to call you Jessica!" White remarked, holding Jessica's Pokéball. She hugged Servine tightly, and both trainers were feeling good.

Of course, in hindsight, Black realized he should have known that there was always calm before the storm.


	7. The Training and The Gambler

Chapter 7

Gold's POV

Gold yawned. It had been extremely boring to listen to that weird guy talk his ears off for an hour, and now he was bored while listening to the "more responsible" Dexholders talk his ears off for another hour.

Green's group had assumed responsibility for the training, and instantly created a schedule that told everyone exactly where to be and what to do. Or basically, they put restrictions on everything. No this, and no that. Gold planned to sneak out first chance he got and head to a casino. Surely there'd be people that gambled here, too right?

However, it seemed Crystal was watching him the whole time, almost as if she were daring him to make a wrong move.

Sometime after Green was explained how to maximize Pokémon potential in a world of less energy, he had dozed off. And instantly received a kick in the legs.

"Oww..." he groaned. His sight instantly turned towards Crys, who had crossed her arms.

"Pay attention, Gold!" She scolded. "You'll have to listen to actually be able to do anything."

"What if I don't want to do anything?" He smiled lecherously and said, "You know, I was thinking how nice it would be to head to a casino. Maybe even a bar. Nobody'll care, and maybe you want to come with me, Super Serious Gal...?" He put his hand on her shoulder which was quickly slapped away.

Crystal reddened. "No way! We're underage!"

He smirked upon hearing her words. "Does that mean you want to if we weren't underage?"

"Of course not!"

"Well then let's go!"

"W-wait! I said no! Stop! Help!" Her efforts were in vain, and they were headed out the door, getting a couple of odd stares from the other Dexholders, but they did nothing. "This is just like that meeting," she moaned. Gold just smiled with amusement.

Outside, the streets were as dirty as ever, but a bar was clearly outlined with flashing neon lights, and Gold heard Crystal whimpering as he he pulled her closer. Grinning, he entered.

Sapphire's POV

After Gold dragged Crystal away to who-knows-where, everyone else just went back to work. Sapphire looked longingly at Red and Black but then shook her head and focused back on the details of how they were going to train. The groups kinda made sense, there were the Battlers; Red, Gold, and Black, the Professor assistants; Green, Crys, and herself, the Theives; Blue, Silver, and White, and the Inner Strength; Yellow, Ruby, and Emerald. It was funny how that turned out...

"Alright, we'll be training together in our groups. We've been given two different training areas to use, so Red's team will face my team, while Blue's team will face Yellow's, alright?" Green asked.

After several nods of agreement, everybody broke and left for their assigned area. Sapphire was pumped, she would be facing her senior Red in battle! And she'd be fighting along with her senior Green! It was paradise, and she might even catch the attention of Red. If she did so, he might give her a few battle tips! Then she'd be able to beat anybody, and her Pokémon would be incredibly strong, and she could beat the truth out of Ruby, and she might finally see if he remembered or not!

"Sapphire, you're drooling," Green pointed out.

She blushed and quickly wiped away the offending liquid. "When are we gonna battle?" She asked excitedly.

"We'll have to check out the field first. I don't want to have to battle in a place like a sewer," Green answered, "It'd better be large enough too, and without too many things to get broken. God knows how many trees were fallen on Mount Silver when Red was training there. Add another three people? There might be a crater when we're done."

The group of four kept walking and eventually found a white door with the label 'VR ROOM #2'. With a shrug, Sapphire walked in. And her mouth promptly hit the floor. This was because in front of her was the largest room she had ever seen. It was plainly white, and had no decorations, and yet was the size of a small town.

"How the hell...?"

"What?" Red pushed his way through, and stopped short. "Whoa. That's a big room."

Their amazement was only magnified when a head popped up in the middle. "Welcome to Virtual Reality! This is an amazing room that becomes one of various scenes for you to train in. We currently have five, and they do have bugs, but it's better than nothing! So, make your choice. Do you want; Forest, City, River, Training or Stadium?"

"Hey, isn't that that T-guy that we talked to yesterday?" Black asked.

"Yeah! And he never told us his name either," Sapphire responded.

"Well, maybe it's Turquoise?" Green asked.

"No, it's probably Topaz," Red replied confidently.

"Well what about Teal?" Sapphire chimed in.

And thus a large debate went on with each side arguing that their color or gem beginning with T was more likely the strange guy's name.

"Topaz seems a lot more likely. Teal and Turquoise both seem a little girly."

"Do you want; Forest, City, River, Training, or Stadium?"

"They're colors! Feminity is not something associated with different colors. It's almost definitely Teal. He seems like a Teal kind of guy."

"Hey! Turquoise seems a lot more like him than Teal. He has to be Turquoise."

"Do you want; Forest, City, River, Training, or Stadium?"

"It could be anything!" Black said.

"Anything chosen." The head said, and all eyes turned to it. "Choosing, River."

The white around them blurred, then turned into a field with a river cutting through the center. There was a small lake in the center, which happened to be placed directly where the group was standing. They fell down into the river and were instantly drenched from head to toe.

All four emerged spitting out water and gasping for breath.

"What the hell?" Sapphire angrily shouted.

"Watch out for water hazards. All properties attributed to life remain the same."

"Now you tell us?"

"Choose your Pokémon."

Upon those words, four heads shot up and a gleam was present in four pairs of eyes. Simultaneously, they called out the sole Pokémon with them.

"Pika!"

"Musha!"

"Charizard!"

"Toro!"

Seeing her Blaziken, Sapph's eyes teared up a bit remembering her other five Pokémon, who were currently held captive, taken when she stood up for a girl by members of Team Plasma. She had escaped with Toro, but her other five were in places unknown.

"Pika, Thunderbolt!"

"Musha, Psybeam!"

Sapphire smiled, her fangs showing a bit. There would be more time to think about rescuing her Pokémon later. Now, she had a battle on her hands.

* * *

Gold's POV

Gold neatly pocketed the 6 ball amidst applause. The bar was fairly unfriendly, but when it became clear that he had come to play a game of pool with the best there, competition filled the air, and everyone became a bit more friendly. The only reason why he and Crys, who was standing close to him, unnerved by the odd gleams in the eyes of some of the men there, weren't thrown out, was because business was business, and everywhere needed as much as they could get. He'd already ordered a couple of drinks for him and Crystal with his winnings from his first two games, and was in the middle of taking down a third. He hadn't had time to prepare Togetaro's ball as a cue ball, so had to go on his skill alone. But, fortunately, beating people who were mildly drunk was easy, and soon, he launched the eight into the corner pocket, putting another hundred into his own pocket. Crystal had originally protested the way he was gambling money when he'd brought nothing, but after two hundred had already been won, she had fallen silent, content to merely watch.

"Nice skills you got there." A man walked up to them. He was dressed in a black tux and a yellow scarf. His hair was oddly shaped, forming a kind of V with a bang over his forehead. He smiled at Gold. "How about you play me?"

Gold looked at him, and could instantly tell that this man was good. He carried a confident air, and Gold had actually seen him before when he was dealing a deck of cards. His hands and fingers were fast, clearly showing amazing dexterity. Gold thought he could take him.

"You're on!" He grinned.

The man quickly set a rack up and placed the cue ball down. Just before he was going to make a shot, he stopped abruptly. "You know, how about we make a wager?"

"What kind?" Gold responded.

"What do you want?"

Gold thought for a moment. "I want you to tell me who you are, and what you're doing here." He had a hunch, this man was not just some regular drunk guy. There was something about him. He had to figure out what.

"Hmm... I could do that. However, that's some very important information to me. If I'm going to wager that, then you're going to have to bet the most important thing to you."

_'The most important...'_ He instantly glanced at the girl holding his arm beside him. Doubtless, she thought that it would be the one Pokémon that he had salvaged. But in reality, it was...

Crystal looked at him, and for a heart-stopping moment, he thought that she actually knew what he was thinking.

"That must be a hard choice for you, huh?" Gold's face instantly paled. _'Does she actually...?'_

His fears were relieved upon her continuation, "Your Togetaro for information on a guy that you just met."

"Yeah..." He thought deeply.

"I see this is a difficult choice for you. Very well, I won't ask you to wager your girlfriend."

"My what?" he asked, startled, just as Crystal responded with her own, "His what?"

He laughed quietly to himself. "I've stopped asking for people's most important things ever since some young boy passed out in front of me after I asked him. All I'll ask from you then is information of yourself. It's an equal exchange. Do we have a deal?"

He looked at Crys who nodded. "Deal!" He said confidently.

_10 minutes later_

Gold was sweating. The man was good. Really good. Gold barely managed to keep up, and he still had to pocket two more, and then the eight, while his opponent only had one more solid to go before he could try the all-important eight.

_CLICK! _And the ten went in. The cue took a spun a bit much though, and cue ball could not get a good shot on the eight. The man simply hit it, and prepared the eight ball so that the next shot of his would definitely get the eight in.

Gold cursed. He'd need to hit all three in a row, or face losing. _CLICK! _The three was pocketed, but the two was difficult. He took careful aim, and let out a quick prayer to Arceus. The ball made contact, but was too hard. He groaned as the blue ball hit the corner of the bottom right pocket, only to fall in the bottom left one. _'Yes!'_ He thought. He strutted over to the eight, took aim and sho-

Crystal screamed. Gold sharply turned, and his momentum propelled the cue stick into the cue ball. He didn't look back though, as a man who clearly had too much to drink had placed his hands on Crystal's shoulders and was dragging her towards him. Rage boiled over Gold and he started running at the shaggy man, when the man playing Gold quickly twisted the offender's arm, and put his face on the ground.

"Don't you ever touch that girl again, you hear me?" His voice was low, but radiated anger. The man on the floor frantically shook his head yes, he understood, and was released. Groaning, he stood up; shot a dirty look to Crystal and her rescuer, before leaving. The room was quiet, and Gold hurried over to Crystal.

"You okay, Crys?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. It's okay." She was obviously shaken up, and Gold didn't want to continue that line of conversation. He turned back to the pool table, and saw an empty table. "Where'd the balls go?" He asked.

His rival shrugged. "It seems you hit the cue ball into the eight, and knocked both of them in."

Gold was aghast. "No way! Does that mean I..."

"Lose?" The man finished his sentence. "It appears so according to the rules."

Gold bemoaned his terrible luck. Where had he gone wrong? It was the scream, he thought, before shaking it away. It wasn't Crystal's fault. It had just been bad luck.

He shook the man's hand. "I suppose you want to know about me?"

The man smiled. "Please. My friends call me Grimsley."

* * *

Sapphire's POV

The virtual reality room was amazing. They were almost battling on an actual river instead of in a white boxed room. Sapphire was sweating really badly now, but she and Green had the advantage. They moved to attack Red as quickly as possible, cutting Pika's stamina down lower and lower, while avoiding Black and Red's attacks. Her perfectly trained Pokémon seemed much weaker now. Green had said something about that, the lack of nature was supposedly lowering the Pokémon's abilities, and she was unaccustumed to the weaker attacks and slower speeds of her Pokémon. But it didn't matter, victory was almost in her grasp!

"Musha, Hypnosis!"

"Toro, get out of the way!" She commanded confidently. But just as her Blaziken was about to jump out of the way, he slid on a patch of mud, and fell asleep under the attack of the Hypnosis.

"Agh! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Pika, Thunderbolt!"

"Musha, Psybeam!"

Sapphire watched in agony as her Blaziken suffered the damage of a super-effective Psybeam from Musha and a Thunderbolt from the Pika of Red himself. Toro fell with swirls in its eyes, and she ran over.

"Toro!"

"Blaze..." The Pokémon cried, weakly.

"You did awesome. Here, have a couple of Sitrus berries."

As the Blaziken was eating, Green's Charizard fell with a _THUD_, knocked out by a well timed Thunder.

Green sprayed him with a Hyper Potion before recalling it to it's ball. He shook hands with Red and Black. "Great match," he said.

"Yeah, you too," Red responded.

"Battle complete." The head of the still-unknown man popped up.

"Holy shit!" Everybody flinched.

"Reverting to White Room."

The scenery blurred, and became the white room again. The door was open and the group walked out.

"That's a really good room," Green commented. "I'm interested to see what the other four scenarios look like.

The other six were already at the waiting room. Conversation stopped for a second, and then they barraged the four with questions.

"Did you see that VR Room? It was amazing!" Emerald said with eyes wide open.

"We chose the Stadium function. And did you know? They modeled it after the Pokémon League stadium! Oh, the memories," Blue said wistfully.

"Where are Gold and Crystal?" Silver questioned.

"Didn't they leave in the middle of Green's lecture?"

"Oh yeah, where were they going?"

"Whatever. They'll be back by lunch. Gold especially."

"Speaking of lunch, we should start making it! I'm starving!"

"Oh, you would bring up your stomach, Sapphire."

After conversation, they broke to prepare lunch. They had no idea that Gold and Crystal had met the Elite Four member Grimsley. And that pair didn't know about the conversation going on in an alley.

* * *

?'s POV

A phone rang in a man's office. He was dressed smartly, and looked very official. Hard to believe that he ran one of the most succesful crime organizations in the region.

He picked up the phone and heard one man's gruff statement.

"I've been following Grimsley, and it seems he's taken an interest in a young couple."

"Oh really? Describe them for me."

"They're both sixteen-ish, maybe seventeen. The guy has a red jacket, yellow shorts, and a black cap with a gold stripe. The girl has a red shirt, a white jacket, and yellow shorts. Should I keep tabs on them?"

"Yes. They sound interesting. But Grimsley's still the priority. Send one of your men to tail them. See what happens."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Yes. If you get the chance, there's a crystal that Grimsley has on his person. It's very valuable, and with the right buyer, worth a lot of money. We wouldn't want it stolen from him by anyone other than us, would we?"

"Not at all," the man replied, "Alright. I'm out. See you at the meeting in two days."

"I look forward to your presence. Good luck."


	8. The Retrieval

Chapter 8

White's POV

White rolled over in her bed. She was twitching, dreaming of the time after some of the happiest moments in her life. The time when she lost almost everything she cared about.

_Two months ago_

She had finally caught her first Pokémon, a Deerling she proudly named Jessica. Her skills as a battler were improving, and she was getting very close with Black. Not that he realized that that was one of her goals. But in that state of bliss, disaster struck. Disaster in the name of Team Plasma. Team Plasma was the codename for the government of Unova, and was the second government to do so, after the government of Hoenn decided to rename themselves Team Magma.

White at the time was in a café, promoting the agency for which she ran. She was meeting with a new filmmaker that wanted to use the Pokémon she represented in his movie. They had just struck a deal and she was feeling satisfied. The café was quiet and had a great range of Then, all the door was smashed open.

"Freeze!" Two men and a woman jumped in through the broken door. They were wearing the classic look of Team Plasma members. This was also known as a completely crazy look.

Everyone in Unova knew that Team Plasma was extremely against Pokémon being owned by trainers, and White had heard the rumors that they had started to take Pokémon from their trainers, but she'd never taken those rumors seriously. But now, that rumor had broken down a door, and was prepared to take White's two beloved Pokémon. She instinctively clutched her two Pokéballs closer as she tried to make herself look insignificant. The three were pressing everybody they could get to, and if she managed to sneak out when they were distracted...

"Hey! This girl here has two of them!" One of the men called out.

The woman turned from the customer she was harassing and looked at White. Or, more importantly, looked at the two Pokéballs clutched in her hands.

"Hi there, sweetie! We'll be taking those Pokémon from you. Don't worry, it's for their own good!" She said with a bright smile.

White knew better though, she clutched the Pokéballs tighter and quickly tried to escape. Unfortunately, the woman was expecting it, and grabbed her.

"Well, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice," the woman sighed. She quickly snatched White's Deerling.

"N-no! Jessica!" White cried, and then started struggling even more. She was desperate to reach the Deerling that was pawing at the ball trying to get back to its trainer.

"Not Amanda too!" White was hysterical at this point, sobbing and shaking, trying anything to stop her when the woman made a move to take her Servine's Pokéball.

"Musha, Psychic!"

Black's familiar Munna came in and slammed the woman onto the ground. She quickly scrambled away, with White's Deerling in her hand.

White turned to thank Black, but she froze.

"Black! Behind you!"

He turned, and was tackled by one of the men. They struggled briefly for a minute, and the man managed to put Black in a chokehold.

"Quick!" He shouted. "Take his Pokéballs!"

"Geh!" Black squirmed and tried to free himself, but soon, one, two, four Pokéballs were gone before he finally managed to break free. Only Munna's empty ball was left.

White watched him punch the man holding him, and get a knee to the stomach in response.

"Amanda! Use Vine Whip!"

The Servine came out, and quickly whipped the man that was about to beat Black.

_SNAP!_ "OW!"

"Again!"

_SNAP!_ "OW!"

"Again!"

_SNAP!_ "OW!"

"AGAIN!"

_SNAP!_ "OW!"

"NO MERCY!" White screamed.

_SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!_

The green vine danced and came down brutally, until there wasn't a single spot of the now whimpering man that wasn't red. Well, only his face was visibly red, because their suit covered the rest of their body, but White was fairly certain that it was all painfully red. Painfully, satisfyingly red.

White was about to command another douse of pain and punishment, but Black interrupted her with a, "White! They're getting away!"

She turned and saw the other two running out of the door. White quickly chased after them.

"GET BACK HERE!"

The two looked back, and looked into the face of certain death. One instantly paled and the other nearly passed out. They ran as if the devil were on their heels, because she was. Fists clenched, she was prepared to beat them to death. Too bad that they quickly ducked out of sight into an alley. White sighed, turned back to go into the store, and was promptly pushed over by the man she had viciously whipped. White sat up, groaning and cursing the Team Plasma member. She walked in and sat next to Black who had his head in his hands. They sat together, and mourned their stolen Pokémon. White vowed to do something about it.

_Three days from present time_

"I can't believe we're really going to do this."

White was sitting with Black over a set of floor plans for the Team Plasma Headquarters outside the same building in the woods. They were prepared to go in and get their Pokémon or die trying. They had prepared for three months and had a plan. Their plan was risky, dangerous, and downright foolish ninety nine percent of the time, but they were determined to carry it through. It was finally the day of execution. White had used one of her contacts, a beautiful, famous model and a genius with anything electrical. She had hacked into the database, printed the blueprints, and was going to unlock all the doors along Black and White's path to the storage area. On the signal, all doors in the way of Black and White would open, and every member would be drawn to the completely opposite sector because of an alarm Elesa would set off. In fact, to White, Elesa's genius was the only sure thing in their plan. White made the call, and almost instantly, the door in front of them opened, and loud alarms were set off in the distance.

"Go, go, go!" Black urged.

They made a break for it, and quickly rushed through the metal doors.

"Left, straight, right, left, left, straight, left," White recited.

Quickly moving through the stainless corridors, they arrived at the room they wanted with no collisions with anybody. They glanced at each other, nodded, and pushed the door open.

What they were expecting was a mountain of stolen Pokéballs with their Pokémon inside. Hopefully, they would be able to find their Pokémon as fast as they could, leave and be on their way. This was _the_ high tension moment, anything could be behind that door. Bracing herself, she threw it open and...

The room didn't disappoint. There were a huge number of Pokéballs on the floor. White eagerly ran up to them, looked inside... Empty. She quickly looked at another. Empty again. Frantically, she looked into one after another to see the same result.

"You're too late," rang out a voice behind her.

White shuddered, she heard that voice in her darkest nightmares. It was N. Ugh, she hated that stalker. Didn't the King of Team Plasma have better things to do then follow two teenagers wherever they went?

The green haired man walked up with a pleased smirk. "Naughty, naughty," scolded N with a condescending grin on his face. "What are you two doing sneaking around in our compound?"

She shook in rage as she responded, "Where are our Pokémon?" Anger was burning in every syllable, but N didn't even flinch.

"Gone," he said, with a smile.

"They must've been released." Black pulled Musha off his head.

"Correct. Father tells me that all the Pokémon you see here were released back into the wild a week ago. We're preparing to destroy the Pokéballs to forever stop the cruel imprisonment of poor, innocent souls that deserve freedom from oppression."

"You're crazy," White whispered. "All the Pokémon were far better with their trainers."

N's calm, serene expression quickly changed to one of anger. "And I suppose that you are one to say this? I can hear the voices of the Pokémon begging for help. Must I remind you that the Tepig you employed believed my ideas over yours? She knew that my ideals were for the good of Pokémon."

White step back, struck by his words. This was a cruel person to bring up that fateful encounter on the Ferris Wheel.

"She only went because she wanted to try out battling," Black seethed, coming to White's defense. "Your flawed ideals had nothing to do with it."

"And you." N turned to Black, his already angry demeanor morphing into fury. "You control these Pokémon and make them fight against their will. I despise your brand of so called _trainers_. What are you training? You're breeding injustice and nurturing chaos. Requesting that people catch Pokémon solely to make them fight in these balls." He gestured towards the pile of red and white balls behind him and continued, "It is truly a despicable existence." N sighed. "No matter, the point is you came here to try to rope your Pokémon back into slavery, broke into our building, and have failed. Now, what to do with you..."

"You're not laying a finger on Prez!" Black quickly moved in front of White to block N from her. White was touched at the gesture.

"I would have the grunts come and seize you, to avoid my hands from being stained by your vile existence, but they're busy fighting the intruders on the other side..." he mused to himself.

White almost laughed. Were they really that stupid? It was just a ploy, and they didn't find out yet?

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" A voice was shouting, and getting closer.

White turned, and was prepared to have to fight through swarms of Team Plasma members, and instead saw two boys and a girl run in. She saw one with a blue jacket, and a red hat, one with a striped orange and white shirt, green scarf, and spiky yellow hair, and a calm girl with a white hat, blue dress, and white scarf.

Three stared at three, and incomprehension was written in the air.

"Who are you?" was heard as six voices asked the same question.

"I am N," introduced N, "King of Team Plasma."

"Great," said the loud one, sarcastically. "Our cover is blown the instant we walk in and now we meet the guy at the top of the food chain. How much worse can this mission get?"

"We could not have food," responded the other boy, who had pulled out a sandwich and bit into it merrily.

_SMACK!_

"NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR FOOD!" The blonde took a fan and smacked it over the head of the hungry one.

"I think the better question is, who are the other two standing with you?" Asked the girl.

"I'm Black," Black responded, his voice guarded.

"White," she responded. "And who are you?"

"Di-"

_SMACK!_

"We're not supposed to give out names!" The blonde scolded harshly to the hungry boy who was lying down, clutching his head.

White had to suppress a giggle, they were very funny.

"What are you doing here?" N asked to the girl, and the two of them seemed to be the only calm ones in the room.

"We were prepared to obtain the Pokémon about to be shipped to the factory. I would guess that this is them?" She pointed at the pile behind N.

"No. These are empty. We've released them already. I have no idea what this factory is that you're talking about," N answered.

"Decoy," the hungry one murmured. "We must've been told to go to the wrong room."

"I agree," said the girl. "Perhaps we should inspect the vehicles in the lot? The schedule is definitely correct, so it would appear that they must be in one of those transports."

"Wait a minute, I know who you are." N was frowning. "I naturally have no idea what you're names are, but I can deduce you are a part of the Resistance, correct?"

"Yes." The girl nodded.

White gasped. The Resistance? Everyone, everywhere knew who they were. A legendary group fighting the corrupt government and crime rings throughout the regions. They were supposedly unable to get access into Unova. White had even considered joining them, before deciding that she wanted her Pokémon back, not a long term commitment. Besides, she had harbored doubts of their ability. Sure, they were said to have fought countless battles, but they were ruthless, and anything could be blown up with time and rumors.

It seems that Black was thinking the same thing. Or it seemed so, as White learned later.

"I'm afraid I must stop you," declared N, as he released his team, along with Gigi. White's heart was wrenched in agony.

Gigi took one look at White, and she hoped that the Tepig would run into her arms... And looked away, back at the battle that was to come.

"Just six?" The loud one laughed. "We have eighteen together. What makes you think you can have each beat three?"

"The right of way," responded N.

The battle commenced, and White was hard-pressed to see what happened. Cries of Pokémon and clashed between strikes rang out, and White strained to see at least one battle between the two opponents. Slowly, numbers wore down N's Pokémon. They started dropping, one at a time, and in what White estimated to be thirty minutes, N was defeated.

White stared incredulously, the three did have superior numbers, but there wasn't a single Pokémon that fell on their side. She looked at Black, who was flabbergasted.

"I believe we should leave now."

"Crap! We're too late!" The blonde's outburst was released upon looking at his watch. He looked up suspiciously and said, "Did you battle us just to stall us?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said N, and he sounded sincere.

"I have a mind to kick your ass right now, buddy." The blonde rolled up his sleeves, but was pulled back by the other boy.

"Stop. We've failed. It's time to return to base." The three turned around and we're leaving the door.

"Wait! Take us with you!"

White jumped in surprise, and looked at Black who had said the words. His face was incomprehensible.

All three turned around, and looked at her employee.

"Why should we?" questioned the girl, who by now, White assumed to be the leader.

"Why shouldn't you?" Black fired back.

"You could betray us. Our organization is very fragile."

"All the more reason to have more manpower."

She smiled, and gestured. "Come with us. We'll make sure you can find a place in one of our teams."

Black moved, and White followed, stepping into the unknown.

She'd never believe that she'd end up with the Dexholders, despite never learning about them. After reading their legend, she was glad to have made the right choice.

?'s POV

A man in an elegant robe sat back in his chair.

Mission accomplished. The Pokémon were moved safely and without interruption.

He'd have to have words with his crew about keeping floor plans, schedules, and strategies safer from now on.

He leaned and spoke into the microphone that transmitted directly to an earpiece in N's ear.

"Good work son."

Ghetsis sat back down and contemplated his next move. Perhaps now would be the time to move against the Resistance.


	9. The Elite 4 Member and The Apprentice

Chapter 9

Crystal's POV

Crystal shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn't even wanted to be here, and apparently, after meeting a guy and playing pool with him, Gold felt the need to tell him everything about them.

"So to sum it up, we were sent into the future by Celebi, got captured by the government, rescued by the Resistance, coerced into helping them, and now we're training for our first mission!"

"We're _supposed_ to be training, Gold," Crystal intervened.

"Oh come on, Super Serious Gal, I'm sure Grimsley here knows that a little bit of gambling can never hurt."

"No, it doesn't," He agreed.

Crystal groaned. _'I'm in a room with two gambling obsessed slackers,'_ she thought. Those two were completely different from her and were stopping her from getting anything done.

"Why am I even here?" She wondered out loud. "I need to be training..."

"Oh?" Grimsley raised his eyebrow. "You two need to train? Well, I could help out."

Crystal laughed. "You? What can you teach us?"

"Well for one, I'm a member of the Unovan Elite Four."

Crystal scoffed. "Standards must be low. Besides, I've never even heard of Unovan."

"It's Unova. Anyways, would you like a test battle to demonstrate? One on one, and if you last longer than a minute, I might tell you about why I'm here."

"All right," she snorted derisively.

_Almost a minute later_

Crystal watched in horror as Arckee fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes. Grimsley's Krookodile had neatly destroyed her Arcanine, with a Rock Slide and an Earthquake. She would normally have expected Arckee to have gracefully avoided the attacks, but the lack of nature must have lowered his speed by amazing amounts.

"Great job, Arckee. You did your best," she said as she recalled her defeated Pokémon. She had a grudging respect for Grimsley now, but a man of his talent shouldn't spend time gambling. Almost exactly like Gold.

"Fine, so you're somewhat competent. What can _you_ teach us?"

"Well, any gambling has a lot to do with a battle. Gambling requires dexterity, cunning, and luck. Especially if you cheat. All these skills are vital to battling. Here, let me show you." He took out a 1 Pokédollar coin. "I have this coin, and I'll flip it. If it's heads I win, and if it's tails you win. If you win, then I tell you anything you want to know. If I win, then nothing happens. Okay?"

Crystal nodded. She had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Grimsley flipped the coin. Heads.

"Again?"

She nodded. Another heads. He kept flipping, and every single time, it was heads. Crystal was flabbergasted. The probability of that happening was miniscule, and yet she had just seen this many flip something like twenty heads in a row. "How is that possible?" She asked.

"Simple," he replied. "If you look carefully at this coin..."

She gasped. "Both sides are heads!"

He nodded. "Therefore you couldn't win."

She scowled. "That's cheating!"

"You should have noticed," he fired back. "And yet you didn't. These are the kinds of things you have to see immediately. I'm certain that Gold here noticed it the instant I flipped the coin."

She turned in surprise, and saw Gold nodding. "When he showed it to you, he never showed you both sides, and when it flipped I was looking, and you could only see heads, no matter what the angle was."

"Dexterity. Cunning. Luck. If the coin was normal, you would've won eventually. If I flipped too slow, it would have been obvious both sides were heads. If by chance you saw it, then I lose again. I had all three, and therefore, I won every time. In the battle we just had, remember that? Your Arcanine was much faster than my Krookodile. Therefore, I had Krookodile use Rock Slide, which hits a general area. It also has the bonus of kicking the dust on the ground up, hampering view, and forcing your Arcanine to rub at its eyes, allowing Earthquake. With all three aspects in my hands, I easily won."

Crystal just stared at him in amazement. It made total sense, and yet she had not seen his plan when he was carrying it out. Was this the strength of an Elite Four member?

"So. Do you truly believe now that gambling does nothing at all? Or even that I am incompetent and have nothing I could teach you?"

She shook her head. Those facts had seemed set in stone ten minutes ago. But now, they were proven to be false.

"You said that you are grouped into teams right? How about I come over and teach your group?"

"You'd do that?" Crystal asked. It was impossible to imagine that such a strong trainer would help them out.

"Of course," he responded. "And I have one last thing to say to Gold, here."

"Hm?" He looked up, and saw Grimsley handing out a small pouch.

"You were about to win our game, I saw. Lady Luck just happened to avert her gaze at the last second. But I'll tell you why I'm here. I've been looking for someone to hold onto this. Can I trust you to keep this and not lose it, nor look into it?"

"Sure," he answered, a little puzzled. "Why me?"

"Gambler's instinct. And my instinct is rarely wrong. Now, how about we head to a hotel? We need somewhere to sleep. We can head to Resistance HQ tomorrow."

"You know about them?" Crystal questioned, a little surprised.

"Most gym leaders and Elite Four members do. We even help out occasionally. Now, how about we go?"

With that, the Elite Four member led the pair back to a nice looking hotel and strolled inside. Crystal saw Gold putting the little pouch into his jacket pocket. Looking back, she thought she'd seen a shadow behind them. However, she must have imagined it, because a second later, it was gone.

* * *

Blue's POV

"Alright, White! I wanna see how good you are at battling first. Battle Silvy here for me!"

Blue was glared at by Silver for the nickname, and smiled mischievously. She saw Silver sigh and decide that it would be better to do as she asked. Damn right.

Silver sent out his Weavile and White released her Servine. Blue hoped that she'd last a little more than a minute against Silver.

She lasted exactly a minute and twenty two seconds, before Silver commanded an Ice Beam and finished the Servine off. Blue remained hopeful about her new apprentice's abilities, and could give pointers and lessons.

After White had recalled her fainted Servine, Blue stood above her. Apparently, it was intimidating, as White's eyes widened, and she scooted a couple of feet away from her.

"Now, what did you do wrong?"

"Umm... I-"

"Nope! First of all, you weren't fast enough. Second, you weren't strong enough. Lastly, you weren't smart enough."

At each statement, White's face grew darker and darker, but Blue didn't notice.

"So, to improve each, you're going to have to train your speed, power, and intelligence. I'd recommend starting with-"

"Umm... Nee-san?" Silver intervened. "I don't think that the lecture you gave was good for morale."

"But it's true!" Blue fired back. "And I'm gonna help her get better! What's wrong with that?"

"Just look at her. Tell me truthfully if she looks like she's getting help."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Okay. So maybe it was a bit harsh. But it doesn't mean it can't have helped at all!" Blue said indignantly.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Fine. So it may not have been so helpful. But I had good intentions!"

"I'm sure you did," soothed Silver. "But there _are_ better ways of helping."

"I guess," Blue grumbled. "But maybe we could-" she started, eyes brightening a little.

"Nee-san..." Silver crossed his arms.

"Alright," Blue conceded. "So then what do _you_ recommend we do?" She glared at him, daring him to respond.

Unabshed, Silver responded, "We explain exactly what went wrong. We explain how and why it went wrong. We explain what we'll have her do and why it will help."

"That's what I was doing!"

"No, you were going to have her do countless excersises for no apparent reason," Silver countered.

She sighed. He was right again. That was Silver for you. She was proud of him. Even though he countermanded her orders. She was sure not even Red would have dared to do that. Perhaps she was prouder of her brother than a sister should have been, but it was probably natural.

"Alright, Mister Genius. How about you explain, since you're making all of the decisions," Blue said, a little spitefully.

Silver simply looked at her, and soon enough, she sighed and turned to White.

"Okay, first of all, your Servine wasn't fast enough compared to Silvy's Weavile. It's completely reasonable since Nii-chan is a training maniac, and his Weavile is a naturally fast Ice-type. On the other hand, your Amanda, that's what you call it right? Amanda? Anyways, your Amanda is a grass-type, which should be only slightly slower due to lack of training. Secondly, Amanda does not have enough power to inflict a large amount of damage onto Weavile. Again, only lots of training can remedy this. Finally, you had the type disadvantage. Weavile knows Blizzard and Ice Beam, strong super effective attacks that'll wipe the floor with Amanda. On the other hand, Amanda has used only Grass type moves so far. Versatility is key in any Pokémon battle. Anything I missed?" She glared pointedly at her brother.

"Nope. So, how are we going to fix that?"

Blue mumbled, "Sometimes I feel like the younger one."

"What was that?"

"Nothing~!" Blue hastily replied. "Okay. Besides training in general by beating stuff up, we can also specialize. We've done countless drills under the Mask of Ice to increase our ability. We can easily recreate them, if we have the right place and materials..."

"The VR room," White piped up.

"Huh?" Blue was puzzled. What could that do?

"The VR room," White stated confidently. "Wasn't there some training option? We can go there and check it out!"

"I agree," Silver stated.

"Why can't you agree with me?" Blue grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing~!"

The VR room turned out to be a blessing. Various training devices appeared as soon as one of them said they wanted it. Nothing too complicated could be produced,, but simple objects such as targets, rocks, and dummies were in infinite supply. After seeing what White could do without being pitted against an incredibly strong trainer, Blue deduced that White did know what she was doing, and had a fair grasp of strategy, but had a lot of room for improvement.

Blue noticed that Silver slept in a corner as she offered tips and strategies to her pupil who was making noticeable progress already, for just a single one hour session. Already, her Servine had faster reflexes and sharper instincts. Power was still fairly low, but Blue was hopeful.

When it was time to leave and wake Silver up, Blue watched him sleep for a while. His face was serenely calm, and he was smiling a little in his sleep. A bit reluctantly, she woke him up.

Upon noticing White repeating the various phrases she had taught her, including ones such as, "Your opponent's stupidity is your greatest ally," and, "The battlefield is helpful in the right circumstances," Blue felt proud, and was confident she had this 'mentor' thing down pat.

Yawning, she headed to bed. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, dreaming of a time when she'd be able to brag about White and say with a smirk on her face, "I taught her." In her dream, Red and Green were both standing in awe as White singlehandedly beat Gold and Yellow. A good dream.

* * *

?'s POV

"How goes on the following of Grimsley?"

A man in a trench coat was on a phone, standing in an alley next to a nice hotel room. "Not bad. He's checked into a hotel. And he's with those two kids. Anything I should do?"

"Not yet. We're still assessing the value of the gem. There's no data at all about it, despite that one request for them, offering that large sum."

"Yeah, ten million Pokédollars," the man responded, eyes glazing over. "Imagine what we could do with that kind of dough."

"We don't know the validity yet. Just follow him, and make sure you keep your eyes on that gem. Got it?"

"Roger." The man slunk away. He already knew just how he'd get his hands on that jewel. The girl would have to suffer a bit though. That would be fine. He couldn't fulfill his sadistic urges too much these days.


	10. The Champion and The Aura Wielder

Chapter 10

Yellow's POV

Yellow was panting. She recognized this place. Viridian City. She'd was running through the streets to get to her forest. She felt dread, curdling at the base of her stomach. Her forest had to be unchanged. She sprinted the final few meters, turned... Nothing. Where what should have been trees was an empty space, stretching for miles and miles in front of her. She sank to her knees. Where were the Pokémon? Where was the life? Where was her home?

She looked again at the miserable scene. The ground shook beneath her in her despair.

She frowned, that was real! The ground split open and swallowed her up.

She fell into an endless abyss, before waking up in horror in her bed, screaming.

"Yellow? Are you okay?" A light flickered on, and Red's concerned face popped into her doorway. "You were yelling and screaming. Is everything all right?"

"Y-yeah. It's fine. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You can go."

"All right."

Yellow shifted under her blanket, and giggled a bit, thinking of what Red would think if she asked him to sleep with her. She smiled, but felt a little wistful that she hadn't tried.

She yawned and fell back asleep. She was tired. Her nightmare completely forgotten, she fell back asleep.

_Later that morning_

"Trainers? What do you mean? We're already trainers." Yellow was very curious. That man, who still refused to release his name, had told the entire group, including Gold and Crys who'd arrived for breakfast, that each group would be receiving a trainer.

"Not that kind. We mean an expert that can help you guys get even better. You're all pretty unaccustomed to our time, so they'll help you."

Crystal nodded. "Grimsley of the Unova Elite 4 will be helping us."

"That's right. After hearing about how he would, we thought it'd be great for all of you guys to get coaches. So, while Grimsley will be with Crystal's team, we've recruited three others. They're acquainted with our Elite Team B, and all accepted when they were told they'd be helping the organization that our second best trio attached themselves to. While they're not members of our team, they help us when they can, and this is one of those times."

"Who are they?" Yellow asked.

"We have a gym leader named Maylene, expert with the Fighting type, and leader of the Veilstone Gym in Sinnoh. She'll be working with Blue's team."

"We also have the Sinnoh champion herself, Cynthia. I'm sure she'd be able to adequately help Red's team."

Yellow was amazed. A Gym Leader, an Elite 4 member, and a Champion? She wondered what kind of person would train her. She visualized a man with countless unconscious bodies behind him, calmly kicking the ass of at least a hundred people.

"Whose our trainer?" she asked excitedly.

"A man named Riley," he responded.

"What position does he have?"

"Umm... I've been told he's just a trainer. Albeit a very capable one. One of the trio was actually trained by him for a period of time. He called Riley an expert, but I have no other information about him."

Yellow's spirits sank. The others got amazing people to help them out, all of high prestigious rank. She just had a normal trainer. Was that all their group was? The rejects? Red's team was clearly the battling team. Green's team were the researchers and base guys. Blue's team was stealth and recon. What was hers? Just for morale and support? Her emotions were at the bottom of her stomach, but she still managed to smile and choke out the words, "Sure. When do we meet him?"

"Each team will head to one of the VR rooms. There are four in total. Your trainers will be at the door." Yellow nodded and walked in the direction of VR room number 4. Once out of sight, she put her head down, quickly putting it back up when her teammates were turning, but every time she turned, her true feelings showed. Little did she know, Riley was probably the best mentor coming.

* * *

Black's POV

Black was staring in awe at the battling goddess before him. To quickly demonstrate what she was capable of, she had ordered a ring of training dummies to materialize. She had then proceeded to reduce all of them to piles of smoldering ash with a single Draco Meteor from her Garchomp.

"Whoa," Gold commented.

Black whole-heartedly agreed, but he wasn't sure whether his senior was talking about the impressive attack, or her, Black had to admit, more impressing figure. For some reason though, while Cynthia may have been the fantasy of many men throughout Sinnoh, and probably, throughout the world, she didn't appeal too much to Black. When he thought of the perfect girl, she was always had brown hair, not blonde. But for some reason, his image seemed very familiar, so familiar, that he mostly disregarded it.

"That's how you do it," Cynthia said with a wink. "Now let's see what you boys can do. You have one attack. Destroy as many targets as you can."

Black pulled out Musha's Pokéball doubtfully. Was it even possible to match that display of sheer power?

Red started off with his attack, and Black feared for his life. He knew that Red's Pikachu was supposed to be less powerful in his time, but with a single command that Red called Megavolt, there weren't even ashes left of the targets. Lightning bounced from target to target, and even after incinerating them, each individual bolt didn't seem to lose any bit of electricity. It was a stunning show. Black shrunk a bit once Red's gaze passed over him, carefully avoiding eye contact.

Gold was next, and with a, "Yeah! Let's do this Togetaro! Double Edge!", the Togekiss charged. It smashed into target after target, until there wasn't an inch of the floor that didn't have rubble on it. And even then, it kept going, not even flinching, as if it were determined to match Red's Pika. Cynthia nodded in approval, praising both boys. Black was shocked. Was that woman seriously praising two teenagers for attacks that could rip people apart? He looked at Musha doubtfully. Could he even come close? What he saw was his Munna getting pumped up, and it looked more excited than it ever had. Black felt the confidence fill him again.

"Three concentric circles," he commanded, and the room obliged, placing around thirty dummies encircling his Musha. It was barely more than a quarter of his senior's amounts, but Black felt that this was the maximum he could accomplish without making a fool of himself.

"Psychic!" he ordered, nervously. He knew what to expect. His Munna would release it's psychic energy in a circle, maybe blowing back two circles, and hopefully, they'd collide into the third. The results shocked him. His Musha's eyes glowed naturally pink, but Black felt an ounce of foreboding, something was different. His hunch was proven when, upon the release of the stored up energy, all three circles were ripped apart from the inside. His jaw fell open. Was this truly his Musha? He looked back over, and saw Musha smiling happily, impressed with its work. He held Musha up to his face. Previously, he'd thought of Musha mainly as his dream-eater. He could activate his logic upon using it. Musha was a strong Pokémon, but he never considered it to be as strong as his Buoh or Brav. Until now.

"That was impressive," Cynthia commented, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I've only seen experts master power like that. Have you been practicing that?"

Black shook his head obediently, and Cynthia looked at him with a new gleam in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"Hmm... For a fourteen year old boy to do that on the first try..." Cynthia seemed deep in thought.

"Umm... Ms. Cynthia? How are you going to train us?" Black asked.

"Oh?" Black's question snapped her out of her thought process. "Oh yes. What's your mission?"

"We're trying to take a truck," Black responded.

"Just a truck?"

"A truck full of weapons," Gold chimed in.

"Okay. We'll start with a drill. I'll be on my Garchomp. The goal is to knock me off. Go." She jumped on her Garchomp, and it quickly glided away. "Oh, by the way, Gold! You can't use your Togekiss! You have to run on foot! Go!"

They quickly sprinted after her, and Black heard a few choice words from Gold regarding Cynthia's last decree.

"Musha!" Black called. "Use Psybeam!"

His Munna nodded, and sent a wave of psychic energy after the Garchomp. It evaded with ease, but allowed the team to catch up a bit. Encouraged, Black repeated the command.

"Togetaro! Use Sky Attack!"

Gold's Togekiss glowed, then raced quickly after the Garchomp. It evaded again.

Togetaro quickly turned around, and was immediately struck by Black's second Psybeam.

"Black! Watch your attacks!" Gold shouted.

"Watch your own Pokémon!" He shot back.

They kept chasing after it, never catching up, and it dodged every attack that came its way. They needed a plan, Black thought.

"Musha!"

The familiar blankness took him over.

"What the fuck? It's eating him!" Gold stopped from pure confusion.

Eventually, the white slowly settled into a recognizable shape. A lightning bolt.

"Senior Red! Have your Pika use Thunderbolt!" He shouted. Red looked back puzzled, but did as suggested.

A attack pierced the distance between them and hit the Garchomp. It easily shook off the noneffective attack.

"Senior Red! You can't attack a ground type with electric attacks!" Gold called.

"Just shut up and look!" Black responded.

Gold turned and saw what Black already figured would be there, a fried Cynthia on the ground. Apparently, though the electricity didn't affect the Garchomp, the area of impact was enough to graze the passenger, and the shock was enough to stun Cynthia and make her fall off.

"Heh," she laughed. "Looks like you got me..."

She stood back up, and stumbled a bit before shaking off the effects of the shock. "Whew. Not bad for your first time trying. How long has it been?"

"Umm... Thirty minutes?" Gold responded.

"Ahh!" Cynthia stretched out. "It feels like that. But no. It's been seventeen and thirty six seconds. A great time, considering some people can't get me off at all. But I noticed one key factor wrong that allowed me to keep myself from falling. What do you think that was?"

After hearing nothing but silence, Cynthia lectured, "Cooperation. You're all capable, but if you work like three one man teams, you'll get nowhere. Now, let's try to lower your time. Go." And with that, she jumped back on and raced off again.

After a single moment of surprise, the three boys looked at each other, nodded, and chased after her.

* * *

Yellow's POV

The man standing next to Yellow's designated door was dressed far different than what Yellow would expect from anybody. He had a blue jacket and black pants, but was wearing a blue fedora.

"Hey! Yellow, wait up!" Emerald called after her, turning the corner, quickly followed by Ruby. "Oh... Hi! Are you Riley?"

"Yes, I am," he answered. Yellow thought his eyes glowed blue a second after he made his statement, but they returned to their normal color, so she must've imagined it.

Riley gestured towards the door. "How about we go in?"

Yellow felt uncomfortable, the guy seemed to be staring at her. She shrunk under his gaze, and quickly ducked inside the door,

The training section was already chosen, but nothing was summoned for the time being.

"What are we doing?" Ruby asked.

Riley simply pulled out three blindfolds. They stared at each other.

"Do you really expect us to put that on?" Yellow asked.

He smiled in response and gave one each. Yellow sighed and put it on. She stood around waiting for instructions. Something rustled, and she turned to face the new noise. All of a sudden, there was a splitting pain right under her left shoulder. "Ah!" she squealed, clutching her injured spot. It wasn't bleeding, but it hurt like a bitch, and she was almost certain it was going to bruise. "What the heck was that?!" She ripped the blindfold off and saw the Lucario standing, preparing an Aura Sphere and Riley standing next to it.

"Put the blindfold back on."

"No!"

"Put it on."

"Why? Just so you can hit me again?"

Ruby and Emerald were confused, as they heard Yellow have an argument with their coach for apparently no reason.

"No, for this." He gestured towards his Lucario and it sent the sphere at Ruby.

She watched in shock, and was about to warn him, but suddenly Ruby dodged, and it slammed into the side of the room.

"What was that?" Ruby took his off too, and so did Emerald.

"Now, why didn't you do that?" he asked.

"How could you expect me to realize that was coming?"

"Didn't you hear my Lucario move? I instructed him to purposely shuffle his feet when launching, and if you didn't hear that, you should definitely have heard it whistling as it was sent through the air."

"Yeah, totally," she sneered. "Who could have heard that?"

"Everyone but you," he easily replied.

"Oh, so you're insulting me?"

"No. So, everyone but you heard it. Why is that?"

Yellow didn't say anything in response.

Riley answered his own question, "It's clearly because you weren't focusing on the task at hand. So, tell me this. What's the reason for the purple layer on your aura?"

Yellow rebounded in shock. What the heck was this man saying? Purple layer? On her aura? Something was decidedly off about this man. That's not even mentioning his obsession about not using sight.

Realizing he was still waiting for an answer, she snapped, "If you can see my _aura_ then why don't you tell me?"

"Are you sure you want me to? Or would it be better if they," he gestured towards Ruby and Emerald, "heard it from you?"

She was caught in a pickle. If she didn't say anything, she'd lose credibility, but if she said it herself, then everything she said would be exaggerated, sinking morale. What would she do?

With both of her teammates looking at her, she felt overwhelmingly guilty, and sighed before telling the truth. "Well, sometimes, it seems like we're just backup to the other three teams. They're all organized into specific categories and we're just the rejects. Plus, I'm sure you two are with the worst leader out of the four. I'm really sorry guys."

She slumped down onto the floor. When she looked back up, Ruby and Emerald were both shaking their heads.

"That's really your reasoning? Well, let me tell you, there's a reason why you're a leader. And it's not seniority or your powers. It's because of the true bond you share with your Pokemon. We believe in your ability, so why can't you believe in the three of us as a team?" Ruby smiled.

"That's right!" Emerald piped up. "Everyone has their own merits, and nobody is the same. Do the best with what you have! And we're all sure that with you as our leader, we can do amazing stuff!"

Yellow was tearing up at this point, to think that both of her juniors really did think this way about her. It made her feel ashamed for ever doubting them. "You're right," she said with conviction, "you're both right. We can do anything if we believe in ourselves and strive for the best."

"Great!" Riley smiled sincerely. "Now, how about we get those blindfolds back on!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What? This is the kind of skill you need to have! Knowing how to dodge random balls flying at you while unable to see is invaluable!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh come on. I'm kidding! Not about the exercise though. It'll improve reflex time, instinct, and you'll be able to pick up on things that most other people won't notice. It's kind of like aura, but since you guys can't read aura, we'll make do with the best we can. Now, blindfolds on. The goal is to dodge the spheres that are aimed at you, but not to move if they're directed at everyone else."

Once again, the blackness enveloped Yellow's sight, but this time, she could hear things that she didn't before. There! Something was being aimed to her right...

"Ow!" Emerald cried.

Yellow was astonished, she actually knew where the attack was going and when it came! Her resolve strengthened, and she was prepared to ace this drill.

Maybe her trainer wasn't so bad after all. When the session was through, Yellow had learned a new skill, and was filled with hope for things to come.

* * *

?'s POV

"Well? What're the results of following Grimsley?"

"You won't believe this. Grimsley's led us to the Resistance Johto HQ."

"What? You mean that pesky organization that's been needling our side for years?"

"The very same."

"And where is it? A nice missile strike will save us a lot of hassle in the future."

"I'll organize it. Once I get the crystal and return I'll give the coordinates to you."

"That''ll be something to look forward to."

"Great work. You have full permission to carry out your plan."

"Roger."


End file.
